Stars Never End
by Aros R. Cao
Summary: Pyrrha Nikos was dead, brutally ended by the hands of Cinder Fall, but she gets another chance to live again. She awakens on Beacon Tower...wearing a white cloak. [revival, reincarnation]
1. Prelude: Death

**Prelude: Death**

 **Disclaimer: I own not RWBY nor Rooster Teeth**

 **"/But your star's still in the sky/So I won't say goodbye/" ~ 'Cold' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"Do you believe in destiny?" she gritted out through clenched teeth.

The woman looked at her. "Yes."

Then the world ended.

* * *

She knew she was dead. She felt the dull thud of the arrow as it went through her chest. She felt herself turn into ashes, lost to the wind. She felt the hollowness. Then it was dark. Not even _black_ dark...just nothingness. She couldn't feel. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She couldn't smell. She couldn't taste. She simply _ceased_ to exist.

Then why are her thoughts still intact?

Why is she here? In this nothingness? Doesn't death let you go? Free you? Isn't-isn't that what was supposed to happen?

Not this faux death. Not this counterfeit. Not this _fake._ Not this eternal torture. She refused to accept it.

Damn it. Just let her _go._

How long had she been here? She didn't know. It could have been a second, an hour, a day, a month, an year, _years, centuries, millenniums._ In the end it doesn't matter _._ It seemed she would be in this nothingness forever.

What was this? Was she here just to repeat her memories for all of eternity? Just to think about about what she lost? What she could've had?

It was almost funny. That in the nothingness she thought more for herself then she ever had before.

She wanted to see that adorable, _wonderful,_ blonde again. She wanted to see her team again. She wanted to see that red-caped girl's team again. She wanted to go to that Academy again. The first place where she was _n_ 't _different_. She wanted _so much_. And...and she would be just fine walking in the world again, even once. Because, stuck in this fake darkness, this faux death, she realized just how _beautiful_ the world is. Even the little things, like crickets chirping. small talk with friends, eating breakfast. Even the awful things, like losing, getting injured or struck with sickness, or-or _crying_. All of those things and more combined to make the world beautiful.

* * *

 _She giggled. "No, that's not how it goes." She went over to reposition the blonde._

" _Aw…"_

" _You'll get it eventually. Let's call it a day."_

 _Her leader and partner sheathed his sword. He looked up at the star filled sky. "Say, what do you think the stars are?"_

 _She blinked. "They're incandescent bodies of gas. Like the Sun."_

" _Eheheheh. Well, there is that." The blonde pointed a finger at a random star. "But I like to think they're everyone."_

" _Everyone?" she repeated._

" _Yeah, everyone who passed away. They leave their legacy in the sky."_

" _What happens when the star burns out?"_

" _Well... I guess they disappear."_

* * *

...what she would give to be a part of the world again.

She hoped she made a difference at the very least. She hoped they were all safe.

She hoped they all moved on.

Except that last part wasn't true. She was scared she'd be a star that burned out. A part of her, a large part of her wished that she would always be in their hearts. That she would be a large burning star that never ends.

"We all do," said a voice.

She tried to turn. Then she remembered. This place was nothingness. She was nothing. She tried to open a mouth she didn't have. Nothing came out as there was nothing to begin with.

"Maybe-" the voice's voice hitched. "Maybe you can have a second chance."

Her mind went into turmoil. A second chance?...and Oum, she felt a spark of happiness from hearing a voice after so long.

"If I use up everything I have..."

This voice though, she could barely understand its words. She certainly couldn't identify its gender. Had she forgotten how to identify people's voices?

"...I -I think I've got it…," the newly fatigued voice said.

Silver light began to engulf her…

"Yes. A second chance I never had ..."

And Pyrrha Nikos was gifted with life once more.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Changes were made to move the plot. This is now _not_ a Christmas Special! Hope I don't disappoint in the story. **

* * *

**Please Review, Favorite, and Follow!**


	2. Chp I: Rebirth

**Chp I: Awakening**

 **Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth and RWBY are not owned by moi, look somewhere else.**

 **"/Always closer/ To the emptiness and sadness/" ~ 'Red Like Roses Pt. II' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

I felt the ground. I _felt_ the ground. I-I could _feel_? Numbly, I opened my eyes.

It was dark and dreary. Grey clouds loomed the sky, blocking out the Sun. But it was _incredible_. I could see. How?

There was a grounded feeling. Like when I was _alive._ This feeling where you knew where everything was, in accordance to you and also where everything was in yourself.

I inhaled. Sucked in a breath of air. Meaning there was _air._ That I had lungs.

This was impossible. Contradictory. But unlike that fake death, I wanted to accept it. I wanted it to be reality.

I staggered to feet I didn't have before. I looked down at myself. I was covered in a white cloak. Well, it was better than nothing, I suppose. I extended an arm. It was pale and skinny. And it was long. Maybe my memories are playing tricks on me, but I was sure my arms had been shorter.

I looked around. My heart sank. I knew this place. It was Beacon and it was deserted. I started breathing hard for some reason.

Ah, I know. This was the place I _died._

I weakly and unsteadily walked to _that_ spot. I touched the ground. It was cold. Was that a good thing? It meant some time had passed at least. How long though? How long have I been deceased?

I noticed something else too. Nothing was present. I didn't expect a corpse or anything of that nature. I-I was sure I was burned to ashes. My throats tightened and I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. But perhaps my circuits or Milo and Akouo. Did they burn as well? It seemed unlikely but considering _that_ woman's powers, it may have been very much possible. I bit my lip. I hope that wasn't the case. It _could_ be possible someone took them. Maybe they even gave me a burial of some sort while they were at it. Yes, let's go with that.

I turned. Then I staggered back. The first noise I made in what seems like eternity slipped out of my lips. "A-ah!"

In the back of my mind, I noted how embarrassing that was.

I took a closer look. It was the Grimm dragon. The one that had been helping _her._ And it was frozen in place, almost like it was turned to stone.

How did that happen? I shook my head. It didn't matter right now. What it meant was that there was a chance there was resistance, that people managed to get out safe.

I should probably do that myself.

There was no need to stay here. I didn't want to stay here. I knew I didn't want to be reminded of my failure to protect this place. The place I called home. That was the real reason and I couldn't lie to myself.

Heh. Some people could say I'm an honest person.

I started making my way down the tower. The elevator wouldn't be working anytime soon so I took the old-fashioned way of climbing. When a path was blocked or too unstable, I just had to use my semblance, polarity.

It took me a couple of tries the first time. This large steel bar was blocking the way. It should've been easy for me. I had had plenty of practice in the pst. Finally, I managed to push it into the air. There was a few long seconds of silence, then a small clank.

I really didn't need the reminder of how high I was.

Even worse, I heard the echoes of Grimm howls.

Which meant there was Grimm. I really did fail, then. How many innocents died because I couldn't take on that woman? Couldn't keep her occupied long enough?

I kept on going.

Have I become more cynical? I certainly felt like it. Maybe death does that to a person, go figure.

I slid down a plank. Red strands of hair appeared in my range of view. Huh, guess I at least my appearance didn't change that much. Did it? I felt vaguely different, off.

That bugged me for some reason. It was likely just the transition between death and living, though.

I stumbled onto the floor. Evidently, I had made it down the tower. I rested on a pillar to catch my breath.

I took a second to look around. It was a hallway. From what I gathered of Beacon's interior design, this was one of the upperclassmen lecture hall areas . ...I guess I'll never be an upperclassman, huh? I had been looking forward to that.

...keep moving. It was easier after getting out of the tower. All I had to do was walk down the hallway.

The elevator evidently wasn't working. I didn't trust my abilities anymore. I grabbed a piece of the cord and slid down slowly.

What would I do now? I asked myself that question as I reached the first floor. My answer was surprisingly easy. Find Team JNPR. I _had_ to see if they were safe. If-if they were then I'd be happy. Oum dammit, I had a second chance, I was going to use it. I-...I don't know what I should do. I don't know where to start. They could be on the other side of the world for all I know.

I felt something wet land on my cheek. I wiped at it and looked down at my hand. Hey, I was _crying._ I stopped and leaned against the wall.

Ever since I died, I wanted to cry. But I couldn't, stuck as nothing in that nothingness.

I slid down onto the floor and bawled my eyes out for the first time in a long time. Those tears just kept rushing out. Even when I rushed to my own death, I hadn't cried, so why now? Maybe it was because I had time to think. Time to process what I did. Or maybe it was because I had this feeling that all I did was for naught. I don't know how long I stayed there. But finally, the howls of Grimm pulled me to my feet.

I had a stop to make before I leave. I struggled to get my tears under control, but finally I managed it. I sniffed one last time.

The dorm wasn't how I remembered it. It had been emptied out. That was good, that meant they were probably out there somewhere.

I took a step in, then another. Suddenly, I was in the middle of the room. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. The smell of the dorm soothed me, rushed over me in comfort. And if I tried hard enough, I could've sworn I saw how it used to be. Light, and cheerful, and radiating happiness..

I opened my eyes and looked around for one last time. Heh, I walked over to the desk. That little spoon contraption Nora and Jaune made was still there. I picked it up and balled my hand around it.

* * *

 _Ren was trying to keep his stoic and calm nature. "What are you two doing?"_

" _What do ya think?" That was Nora. "We're making a food shooter!"_

 _Jaune pulled on the spoon's end and released it. The grape smashed into his face. "Ow!"_

" _I don't think it goes that way, Jaune."_

" _Ye-yeah, I think I noticed, Pyrrha."_

* * *

Good times, huh? I pocketed the contraption. Then I imprinted the room into my memories and with soft steps, left it.

Did I take those good times away from them when I left them? A guilty knot tied up my stomach. I shook my head. No, I can't dwell on that. I have to move. Keep moving.

The gate was wide open. Outside, a gathering of Grimm awaited. Oum, there was so _many_ of them. Every once in a while, one of them would roar, or growl, or shriek. They wandered around listlessly, mindlessly. Like they were looking for something. Or waiting for someone to come across them.

And that someone would be me if I wanted to get into Vale.

I pulled my cloak tighter. It really was a lifeline. Maybe that was why Ruby wore one all the time. I hope all of her team was safe and well too. They deserve it, they were good people.

I still needed to find a way into Vale. It was the only place close that I could find information from. And they might be there. It was a chance I was willing to bet on. Wait-didn't Beacon have an armory?

I went back inside, quickly sprinting to the lockers. I didn't bother with regulations, slamming into the door to the back room. It crashed open, revealing the collection of extra weapons. It was supposed to be used if a student forgot their own weapon, I doubt there would be anything of high quality here. But face it, anything is better than nothing at the moment.

I checked the shelves, the walls, and I pulled out boxes. Something caught my eyes and I frowned. There was another box behind the one that I had just taken out. It was long and made of steel, not the cardboard the other boxes were. The old me may have left it alone out of respect, but I didn't have the time for that. I pulled it off the shelf, stumbling. It certainly was heavy.

I put it on the floor and knelt by it. My brows furrowed. It was quite intricately designed for a box, with a white rose emblem imprinted on it and unidentifiable symbols sketched on the edges. There were even three padlocks sealing it. It was inconceivable that I would happen to guess the combination on even one lock, much less three. Really, this was just depressing. Did it really want me to remember my past?

I concentrated on the first padlock, stretching out my hand. ... _Click!_ One. ... _Click!_ Two. ... _Click!_ Three. ... _Click!_ Four. ... _Click!_ Five. Finally, the lock came undone. That took much longer than it should have. I pushed the thought to the side and moved on to the next two, doing the same thing.

I pulled at the padlocks. They came off with harsh resistance. The last one even with a screech. It seems no one has opened it in a long time. I sucked in a breath. How long have I been gone? And the Rose had an awful resemblance to Ruby's in-don't think about it, Pyrrha. Just don't.

I opened the case and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Inside was a gleaming red spear with white outlinings. It was large, bigger than Milo by at least three times and it was certainly broader. It was double sided, growing bigger at each end and then suddenly ending in a sharp point. This certainly wasn't a low quality weapon.

But it was just what I needed.

* * *

I speared the Beowulf. The movement came naturally, like I had done it all my life. That was quite ironic, considering I had been alive for a few hours at best.

The other Grimm howled. My spot had been compromised the moment that Beowulf noticed me.

Maybe I should count myself lucky I made it a quarter through before I was spotted. It was the cloak, probably the cloak. I personally have really bad luck.

Two boarbatusks charged. A nevermore looked in my direction. I slid close to the floor and swung the lance. The boarbatusks flew into the air and disappeared into darkness.

I used the momentum to run. I held the spear close to me, stabbing and swinging at anything that came close.

A Beowulf slashed at me. I couldn't block it in time, it left a long mark on my arm.

I saw red.

I don't want to die. I don't want to die! _I don't want to_ _die!_

When my vision cleared, I was on the other side of the field. Wha-what happened? I looked down. Blood soaked my cloak. My hands trembled. My head felt light.

I gasped, holding my chest. I coughed up blood. Oh, that's right. There was still Grimm. And they weren't going to wait for me to slowly recover. I used the spear as a cane.

And I dragged myself into the City of Vale.

* * *

If I thought I was going to find my team in the city, then I was sorely mistaken. Or at least now I certainly hope I was. I supported myself with the buildings. I had been incredibly lucky so far, no Grimm in the city had found me yet. Huh, maybe it really _was_ the cloak.

I don't know about the rest of Vale, but this part of the city was a complete wreck...to put it lightly. It was just as dark as Beacon. There were no lights on like how it _should_ be. It was a ghost town, robbed of people and their daily lives. Well, at the very least there was less Grimm here than in Beacon. That made no sense, though. Why? Why would the Grimm surround Beacon but not the city where there was bound to have at least a little more people?

I sat myself down on a bench. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. I knew I was still bleeding, I know that if I stop, my adrenaline rush would catch up to me and I'd be in a whole lot of pain...or at least more pain than I already was in. But Oum, I was tired-NO! I jumped up from the bench. I ignored my wince. Keep on moving, keep on going. You can't stop now. You can't die now...you can't die again.

I don't know where I was going. Maybe I wanted to go anywhere but here. Get away from my past. Get away from Beacon. Get away from my failures. It didn't matter. I just knew I couldn't stay here and that was good enough for me.

 _Thump! Grrr!_ I instinctively turned to the direction of the sound. _Slam!_ Were those the sound of fighting…? Were there people here? Would I be able to see another person again after so long? I ran with strength I didn't know I have. I swerved at a corner, not even glancing at the blood, _my_ drop dripping to the ground.

I skidded to a stop and looked. There was a small girl with an umbrella and there were four Grimm fighting her. I didn't bother processing anything else. I hurled my lance. It struck the first Grimm where the heart would be in a human being. It dissolved into smoke.

The girl glanced at me, but didn't bother speaking or even making a noise for that matter. She kicked into the air and slashed at another Grimm with the point of her umbrella. The Grimm's head was cleanly separated from its body. It fell to the floor and turned to dust. It looks like she had skill. And that's probably how she's still here and alive.

I ran towards the next Grimm and pulled my lance to myself. I pointed it at the Grimm, slitting through it. The girl took down the other Grimm with what looked like very little effort.

 _Ssssss._ I froze and looked around. I readied my lance for striking. The girl jumped behind me and we stood back to ground exploded underneath our feet. The girl and I were thrown into the air. I looked down. It was a King Taijitu and it was _big._ I had the feeling I was way in over my head.

The girl acted faster than me, she used her momentum to strike at the white snake head. I followed her lead, using my lance to propel myself towards the black head.

The lance hit the head, embedding itself into it. The King Taijutsu struggled and shook. I held on tightly. I struggled to extend my aura, but I managed it to the tip of my lance. The giant Grimms head exploded. I fell to the ground. I tried to land on my feet but they ended up buckling.

I don't really know the rest but I was pretty sure I landed on my face instead.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: ...and it looks like I _will_ be continuing this fic. The response was awesome! Which is why I redid a part of the Prelude so it actually makes sense in the story I have planned out. Well, what did you guys think? What are your theories on what happened to Pyrrha? And as for why its first-person, well, I kinda wanted to try that out after using third-person all the time and it fits the story much better.**

 **Beta-Reading is to ten-year old little bro.**

 **...and does this feel like Pyrrha? Keep in mind she has a serious case of PTSD and well...death.**

* * *

 **Give me Constructive Criticism and Suggestions!**

 **And please, Review, Favorite, and Follow!**


	3. Chp II: Realization

**Chp II: Realization**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY and RT are not mine. =(**

 **"/I don't wanna hear your absolution / Hope you're ready for a revolution/" ~ 'This Will Be The Day' By Jeff Williams**

* * *

I dazedly woke up on a couch in what looked like a living room. Clenching my head, I looked around. It was probably the nicest thing I've seen since my 'revival'. A wooden table adorned the center of the room, opposite to my own couch was another one, and there was two closed doors. Sounds of rushing water came from outside, it must be raining. For light, there was an electric lantern… and a burning fireplace.

I suddenly felt the urge to run or at the very least, snuff out the fire. But that would be irrational and inconsiderate. I took in a breath to calm myself. Remember, fire produces heat and heat is good.

Looking down at myself, it seemed whoever dragged me here didn't bother cleaning anything. My cloak was still covered in my blood. I slowly pulled it back to see how bad the injuries were. Huh, the girl, who I assumed was responsible, had wrapped all my injuries with paper towels. I'm not sure how durable or helpful paper towels were, but they seemed to work and that's all that mattered. I made a mental note to thank the girl when I see her again.

On the other hand, what I was wearing caught my interest. I certainly would never have picked this outfit out. Black stockings, black and red boots. A buttoned light grey long-sleeved shirt with red trimmings, the sleeves became an abrupt coloring of black. A grey belt went around my waist. Then finally, a red miniskirt, probably the only similarity the outfit had with my old attire. Though the red was more crimson than anything I ever had.

I rose unsteadily to my feet. I took a few test steps around. Well, at least my bodily functions were working. I walked to the table, where my lance was. I frowned. Technically, it wasn't _my_ lance, was it? I just happened to find it. I fingered the white rose insignia in the middle of the blade section of one side. That must have been the owner's insignia. Many people etched their own symbols on their personal weapons, I had done so myself.

I lifted the weapon that fit perfectly into my hands, like it was designed for it. With the quality of this lance, I would expect it to have two other forms at least. Should I try to find out what they are? It seemed disrespectful, though taking it in the first place was too. I shook my head, in for the quarter, in for the pound. Was that how it went?

I focused on the weapon, looking for a place it would change. There! Those black slanted ends on the handle. I pressed them. The lance separated into two pieces, the blades extended and the handles retracted. Now I was holding two swords of some sort. I test swung them. They were balanced just right. Then I flipped them so that I was holding them like daggers. That went smoothly as well.

I started flipping them back, but I must have unleashed a mechanism of some sort as the weapon began changing again. Suddenly, I was holding two guns, large and PDW like. I gawked. This thing certainly was versatile.

I heard the door click behind me. I spun on reflex, newly formed guns at the ready.

The umbrella girl stared at me.

I lowered my weapons, feeling embarrassed. "U-uh, my apologies…."

She didn't speak a word, merely tilting her head to acknowledge my words. She walked to the other door and looked back. Her face seemed to say 'stay there'. Then she left. I noticed that she was holding her umbrella the whole time too.

That certainly was...unusual. The girl herself could be described that way too. What with two completely different colors of hair, brown and pink and different colored eyes. And the umbrella...she really liked it, it seems.

I vaguely noted the rain had stopped.

I sat back down on the couch. I began fidgeting with the weapon. My preference was the lance, which came as no surprise. After a while of guessing, I managed to get it back together.

By coincidence, the girl returned just as the lance was reassembled. She threw me something that I fumbled to catch. I looked at it. It was a loaf of bread.

"Thanks."

As what was becoming the norm, the girl didn't bother answering.

Honestly, I really wanted her to. It had been a long time since I heard someone, barring that voice. I grimaced, who was that anyway? At the very least, I wanted to thank them…for giving me a second chance, as they had called it.

I won't waste it, I promise.

The girl sat down on the other coach and began eating. I decided to follow her example.

I paused, I really couldn't keep referring to her as 'the girl' could I?

I cleared my throat. "Can I ask you for your name?"

At the back of my mind, I noted how different my voice sounded. More mature? Higher? Smoother? I couldn't pinpoint it.

The girl glanced at me. She didn't make any move to tell me.

New strategy then. "I suppose I should introduce myself first then. My name is Pyrrha Nikos."

I saw no harm in revealing who I was. After all, it was painfully obvious. I was a celebrity. The girl's eyes widened and she choked on her bread..

Oh deer...maybe it had become common knowledge I was dead? In hindsight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

But I couldn't lie, could I?

The girl recovered just before I was going to go and help her. She examined me and shook her head.

I felt uncomfortable from the attention. I always had.

"...right. Could I have your name now please? I really would rather not call you 'girl'," I tried cracking a joke. …I've never been good at jokes. I believe I took things too literally, was it?

The girl's umbrella suddenly extended. That point looked awfully sharp. Thankfully, she didn't point it at me, instead she started carving on the table.

I blinked as I looked down at the letters. "Neo?"

The newly recognized Neo nodded. She seemed satisfied and began eating again.

But the fact that she hadn't simply spoken her name bugged me.

"Are you perhaps...mute?"

Neo glared. I believe I hit a sore spot.

I held up my hands. "Sorry! I didn't mean for that to be offensive."

She ignored me. ...and now I feel awful. "Neo?"

Neo motioned for me to go on, still irked looking.

"Why are you still here? You certainly have the capabilities to leave."

She mocked sigh. No words were written, no hand motions made. Neo suddenly looked very tired.

I never was good at conversation either. Perhaps if-no, _once_ I find my team, I'll work on it along with my joking skills.

"Thank you, by the way, for bringing me here and binding my wounds."

Neo looked away. Heh, not good with thank you's? I could relate.

"Could you tell me how long it had been since-since the attack on Beacon?"

Neo stared at me with a look of disbelief. Clearly, I should know this. But couldn't very well say I was...out of commission at the time, could I?

"Please just write or, uh, carve it down for me."

She rolled her eyes, but obliged anyway. I smiled. See? Neo could be a nice person.

She scribbled out an eight.

I immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion, my throat dried. "Eight...years?"

She facepalmed and wrote an 'm' at the end.

"Months?" A nod came from Neo. I breathed a sigh of relief. Eight months, that was workable. Not a lot of things change in eight months...right? ...it was almost an year's worth of time. I shook my head, it was better than the alternative.

...and my demise certainly felt a lot longer than eight months.

Neo watched my reactions with unhidden curiosity. Clearly she couldn't understand my panic and relief.

Though that did bring up the question: who was Neo?

"Thanks again," I said, sincerely meaning it. "That was really important to me."

Neo looked uncomfortable again. Really, she wasn't good with praise was she?

"One last question," I decided. I couldn't impose on her forever. "Would you happen to know where Beacon's teams went?"

Neo suddenly stilled. She swallowed the last bits of her bread. Her eyes widened and then narrowed. She carved into the table with enough force I was worried that the umbrella would simply go through the table.

 _Why?_

I was surprised by the unexpectedly violent reaction. "Uh-um… I want to find them?"

She tapped her carving insistently. The same question presented itself 'why?'.

"Because they're very important to me," I said with conviction. More conviction I had said with anything else to her.

Neo tapped the carving again.

I was honestly confused. Shouldn't it be obvious? I was Pyrrha Nikos, the celebrity, or as I prefer to refer to myself, a member of Team JNPR.

I decided that maybe Neo just wasn't the type of person to keep up with events. "I'm a part of one of the teams, Team JNPR."

She looked at me worriedly, like I may have a screw loose or something of that nature. She carved out something on the table.

I stared. It said 'no'. "Wh-what? No, I assure you, I am certainly a part of Team JNPR."

Neo slammed her face into her free hand. She started carving into the table more carefully than before. At this point, the table was going to die.

She revealed her words.

J: Jaune Arc, with a checkmark next to it.

N: Nora Valkyrie, checkmark.

P: Pyrrha Nikos...a large X across it.

R: Lie Ren, checkmark.

" _Yes._ But I _am_ Pyrrha Nikos, do you know what she looks like?" I'm certain no one saw my...death, I could just write it off as highly exaggerated rumors of some sorts.

Neo nodded an affirmative. I patted my head to check if maybe my cloak's hood was on. It wasn't.

I frowned. "Do I not look like her?"

Neo nodded. She wrote down another name: Ruby Rose.

"...I look like Ruby?" What?

She carved out the word 'eyes'.

"Um...I have silver eyes?"

She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Neo looked ready to pull her hair out. Instead, she got up and started dragging me towards the door she came out of.

"Wha-?"

She unhanded me and pulled out a lighter. I instinctively backed away from it, moving towards the door. Neo gave me a weird look before lighting up the lighter.

...we were in a bathroom. I realized that what I had mistaken as rain was evidently Neo taking a shower. My face heated up in embarrassment from that silly mistake.

Either Neo didn't care enough to comment or she simply didn't notice, she ignored me. Instead, she pointed at the large mirror above the sink. I didn't know how this was supposed to prove her point. My face was mine right? I had to look like me. I stepped in front of the mirror.

"...h-huh?" All the pieces suddenly fell together. Why my arms were longer. Why I felt different. Why my voice sounded wrong to me. Why Neo refused to believe I was who I said I was. Why she had wrote down that name and 'eyes'. And perhaps even why my outfit was so out of my style.

...it was because the person looking back at me _wasn't_ Pyrrha Nikos.

It was a person that looked like a more mature Ruby Rose with green eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Dun! Dun! Dun! What next? Lol, gods I really love writing this story. See ya guys in three days!**

 **Beta-Reading is to ten-year old little bro.**

* * *

 **Review** **er** **Responses**

 **Gunnrdgr8: I really couldn't find a reason _why_ Pyrrha would keep her identity a secret, especially considering she's famous and all and she believed she looked the same...so yeah. But now she will probably be less inclined.**

 **Nerd315: She blanked out, so one could assume she got a lot more injuries during that time period. And did you see the changes I made to the Prelude now that it's not a one-shot? The last section to be exact.**

 **Galven: Thanks! And we'll see how Jaune reacts...**

 **merendinomiliano: I don't _feel_ like its an error but it might be, I'll have to see. And did you mean Neo? Because I'm pretty sure Pyrrha _has_ to team up with herself, lol. And don't worry, your waifu is out there.**

 **bayhon282004: Will do. =)**

* * *

 **Please leave Constructive** **Criticism** **and Suggestions!**

 **And I love reading the Reviews! While you're at it, Favorite and Follow!**


	4. Chp III: Start

**Chp III: Start**

 **Disclaimer: I, ARK, am not owning RWBY or RT anytime soon.**

" **/A dream that's been a lifetime/" ~ 'It's My Turn' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

My hands or I suppose _this person's_ hands began to shake.

"W-what?" I stepped back from the mirror. My back touched the wall of the bathroom. Who was this? _Who_ was this?

"T-That isn't me. It _isn't."_

Neo watched me impassively. I could imagine what was going through her mind now. This person is crazy. This person claims she's Pyrrha Nikos of all people.

I ran _this person's_ hand through _this person's_ hair, sinking to the floor. I am Pyrrha Nikos, I _am_ Pyrrha Nikos. I ignored _this person's_ trembling. I could prove it. I know I could prove it to myself, to the people close to me. But to Neo? Other people?

No. I couldn't.

I would be seen as a sham.

I didn't care about that though. I never enjoyed the fame I gained by accident.

But doubt started gripping me. _Can_ I prove it to everyone that mattered?

Can I prove it to _myself? Who was I?_

I'm pretty sure _this person's_ face had gone completely pale. That _this person_ was shaking uncontrollably.

Finally, Neo tapped the floor with her umbrella. I looked up. She seemed uncomfortable, but she waved at me to follow her out of the bathroom.

Well, I had nothing better to do. I wiped at _this person's_ eyes. Oum, I probably look like a mess right now. A loony mess.

Neo frowned at me when we got back into the living room. She scribbled out words on the table again.

I sat down on the couch with no energy and looked at the writing.

 _What are you going to do now?_

What _am_ I going to do? I suppose I would still try to find my Team. ...even if they didn't recognize me.

I swallowed. "F-find my team." Oum, now I was _stuttering._

Neo pointed at her list of Team JNPR.

"Yes."

She frowned. Neo didn't make any moves for a few agonizing seconds. It was like she was making a difficult decision of some sort.

Finally, she carved into the table again.

My breath hitched.

 _R w/ JNPR. Y at Patch. Y knows where R went._

I processed the information. "Ruby is with my team? And…" Does Y stand for Ruby's sister? "Yang is at Patch and she knows where Ruby went?"

Neo nodded.

Yes, I was getting somewhere! I pushed my identity crisis to the side. Worry about what you _can_ solve. Not what you can't.

"Then my destination is Patch."

Neo looked at me. She tapped the crossed out Pyrrha and tilted her head.

"...I'm Pyrrha," I said, fully knowing how weak my voice sounded.

She slowly nodded, like she decided to accept it even if it's completely insane sounded.

I'm glad.

I put on a weak smile. If I think about it one way, life is still life and it would always beat death no matter what.

I stood up, determined to make progress.

This time, Neo really _did_ look at me like I'm insane. I sent her a questioning look.

She pointed at the window. It was pitch black outside, even considering the smokey grey clouds that seem to always hang over the area. Oh, it was night time.

Tomorrow then. I slumped back down into the couch. I gazed at Neo as she sat into her own couch. I don't know what I should do now. Fall asleep? I don't want to think about _this body._

What if I had taken over this person's body? That would make me a mur-No. Stop.

"...say, Neo?"

The girl looked at me. She seemed vaguely annoyed at me for bothering her...again. I should probably stop after this.

"Why isn't Yang with Ruby? They're on the same team." Teams are your family. For Yang and Ruby that was even more true. I couldn't see Yang just letting Ruby go with my own team...especially considering what happened to me.

Neo shrugged. Her multi-colored eyes seemed to glaze over for a second. She made a separating motion with her hands.

"...huh?"

She wrote down _Team RWBY_ and made the same motion again.

"They...they're disbanded?"

Neo nodded. I couldn't believe it. I've seen the team, they were almost inseparable. Sometimes they would even seem to disappear together. What could possibly make them disband? And even if they did, why did Ruby leave Yang? Why didn't Yang go with her?

No…it can't be. "Is all of Team RWBY accounted for?"

Neo nodded.

I sighed in relief. I was wrong, and I was glad for it.

Though...what would that make Team JNPR and Ruby? Team JNRR? That wasn't even a color.

A chuckle slipped out of my lips. I wondered what that Team formation was like.

...I want to see it. And I want to be a part of it.

Though it does beg the question. How did Neo know all this? ...she was probably just really perceptive.

I decided to close my eyes and focus on my breathing. After a while, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _I had done it. I had really done it. I looked up at Sanctum Academy. I glanced down at my fake transcript. It took me a lot of favors, a lot of work, but I managed to fake myself in here. To be accepted. To have a chance. To help others like me._

 _As Pyrrha Nikos._

* * *

I woke up as rays of filtered sunlight beamed through the window. Looking out the window, I still saw grey. But at least it was light grey, that wa something. I looked at the other couch. Neo was still asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly.

I leaned back in my couch. What an unusual time for my brain to dig up that memory again. It certainly reminded me of Jaune though.

Someone who had done something much more daring than me, faking a transcript into the prestigious Beacon Academy of all places.

Haven would have been easier, _much_ easier in fact. Heh, but that wasn't the Arc way was it?

* * *

 _Jaune looked at me angrily as he revealed the truth. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."_

" _W-what do you mean?" Didn't he have a family? It wasn't like_ he _had to create his own identity._

 _He turned and for a few seconds, the wind was all that we could hear as we stood on the roof._

" _I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't_ earn _my spot at this Academy!" He looked at me again. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and lied!"_

 _My mind went blank. All this for Beacon? When he could just live comfortably in a house with his ridiculously large family? "What? But...why?"_

 _Jaune turned away again. "Cause_ this _is what I've wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one too. But I was just never good enough."_

 _I realized that my former situation wasn't similar to his. Not even close actually, but still, my heart went out to him. I couldn't help but draw the parallels. So I placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "than let me help you!"_

 _Jaune turned on me. "I don't_ want _help. I don't_ want _to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"_

" _Jaune, I-"_

" _I'm_ tired _of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the trees while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?"_

 _You're fine, everyone has to start somewhere. I should know. I reached out to him, but he pulled away._

" _Just...leave me alone. Okay?"_

 _I bowed my head. "If that's what you think is best."_

 _And I walked away. I was going to say I had been through the same thing. That I was never always the top of my class, never always the four times Mistral Region Champion, never always Pyrrha the celebrity, the household name. That I too, had faked my identity into a school._

* * *

...I never did mention that did I? In hindsight, maybe my team didn't know a lot about me. We never did talk about our pasts much. Jaune was just average, barring his ridiculously large family, Ren and Nora were childhood friends, but they never brought up their story, and I didn't for obvious reasons.

Did Team JNPR knew each other that well in the end?

I shook my head. Positive thoughts, Pyrrha, positive thoughts.

Look towards the future. How was I going to get to Patch? From what I remembered, it was an island on the west of Vale, meaning I'd have to cross water. First, I'd need to get to the west, then I have to find a boat or airship of some kind…that was willing to take in a broke teenager. I could manage that. I didn't like calling upon old abilities, but it could be done.

Then what? Would Yang even tell me where Ruby was? She would think I'm a lunatic, I barely looked like Pyrrha Nikos. ...This body looked an awful lot like Ruby for some reason though.

I shook my head. I set my jaw. I would try, that's what got me this far, that's what will get me farther.

But this body, wha-Please stop wandering, mind.

Neo drifted awake. She shook her head and looked at me. She raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"Yeah," I said. "Guess I'll get moving now."

Neo nodded. She pointed a thumb to the door. More specifically, the door that was not to the bathroom.

I'm guessing that's the exit. I grabbed my lance and stood up. I stretched and there was a few cracks in response. Looks like sleeping in a couch isn't good for you. I made a mental note to get in a bed as soon as possible. One should always take care of their body after all. …or another person's body.

I strided across the room and opened the door. There was a set of small, compact stairs leading down. I hadn't realized that we were on a higher level. I glanced back, Neo was already preoccupied with what looked like sharpening her umbrella's point. ...I decided I don't want to be at the end of _that_ anytime, ever.

I hesitantly took my first step down. It was like the start of a journey. Or a quest. Sounds like something out of a story, huh?

But it was just the start of a selfish goal of an insignificant person like me. A person who didn't know who she was anymore.

I turned the knob of the door at the end of the steps. As I cracked open the door, grey light filtered into the building. I stopped, an idea forming in my head.

I closed the door and rushed back up the nearly claustrophobic stairs. I must have slammed open the door to the room, because Neo jumped out of her seat. She gave me an incredulous expression.

I smiled. Neo _did_ help me when I needed it the most. It was only fair.

"Neo, I would like you to accompany me on my travels." I held out a hand.

' _What?_ ' Was the look she gave me. But after a few seconds of pause, she put on a look of resignation.

Neo walked up to me and took my hand.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And the plot starts rolling! Cheers! Though I do wanna know, I'm making a lot headcanon for Pyrrha, so what do you guys think of it? Is it unnatural?**

 **Brother is home sick so he couldn't beta….**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Knight7572: Kinda obvious isn't it? Poor Pyrrha is clueless though…**

 **merendinoemiliano: It's always the autocorrect, lol...and people always just assume Arkos, huh? Well they** _ **are**_ **adorable. =)**

 **Soundwave's Cassette Store: Hope I don't disappoint!**

 **bayhon282004: =)**

 **Clementine Davidson: Wow, thanks! Heheh, it really means a lot.**

 **TheSetupMage: I did not think about the Remnant continuity thing. Oops. Ah well, whatevs. And lol, I can't imagine why...**

* * *

 **Constructive Critisicm and Suggestions super appreciated!**

 **And Review, Favorite, and follow if you like!**


	5. Chp IV: Travels

**Chp IV: Travels**

 **Disclaimer: Still not an owner of RWBY nor RT**

 **"/Let's just live day by day and not be conquered by our sorrows/" 'Let's Just Live' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

First things first. Neo and I needed a map of some sort. Walking blind would take us an eternity and then some if we ever wanted to reach Patch. Which was why we were looting stores.

My sincere apologies, whoever owned these stores.

"Revolutionaire Technologies, Everything for the Best ...Price?" I assumed the last word as the sign had fallen to the floor. The store was boarded up in a hurry, though I have no idea why anyone would board it up while Grimm were attacking. There was an unusual indent on the side of the store.

It turned out Neo wasn't the type to bother with respect. She walked up the door and kicked it down.

"Sorry," I quickly muttered before walking in.

Neo grinned. She held up a scroll she had found on a table.

"...do we have internet?" I asked.

Neo shrugged. She plopped down on the floor and began to mess with the scroll.

I walked to the table Neo had found her new scroll on. It was set with rows of scrolls for people to view. I grabbed the red one...I always did have a fondness for red.

The scroll flickered on when I pressed the start button. A new user settings screen greeted me. It was the usual set-up, internet (of which there was none), time (of which I had no idea), gmail (...I never had a gmail, or at least any personal one), and name.

I paused on the last one. No. I shook my head. I _will always_ be Pyrrha Nikos. Doubting will get me nowhere.

I put down _my_ name.

The scroll went to the default home screen. I swiped at it, looking at all the apps for a moment. ...I wonder what happened to my school scroll.

Neo tapped my shoulder. I turned.

' _Hello.'_ was written on her scroll in what I assume was the notes app.

I smiled. "Well, that's much better."

' _Yeah.'_

Neo held up a hand and started working on her scroll again. Seeing as that was the universal 'wait' signal, I decided to do just that. I pulled out my canteen from the pocket on my belt and took a sip. This was the end of the third street we had searched. Not surprisingly, there was no shop with maps in them. After all, why would a store sell maps when a person could just pull one up on their scroll? Though on the other hand, we _did_ managed to find a lot of rations and random survival supplies. The canteens were from Neo's impromptu house.

' _Tada.'_ Neo shoved her scroll into my face. I took a step back.

"Uh...what?" I couldn't see anything that would be met with a ' _tada'._

Now pointed at the corner of the screen. My eyes widened.

"Is that service?"

Neo nodded. She swiped at her scroll, revealing a fully working map. It even had an arrow mark on where we were.

"That's amazing, Neo!" Huh, how'd she manage that?

Neo turned away and tapped at her scroll a few times. Neo showed me her scroll again.

"Huh...Patch's the destination." I nodded. "Right."

Neo pressed the 'on foot' option.

It said '22 hours'.

"That's including if we swam right?" I wasn't planning on swimming to Patch anytime soon.

Neo made a few adjustments to her settings. Now it was only from here to the shore.

"...now it's nineteen hours." Well, it _was_ an improvement, I suppose. I wanted to get to Patch fast though. The sooner the better.

Neo looked at me. She must have noticed my impatience because she wrote on her scroll again and showed it to me.

' _Not just 19 hrs. We aren't walking for 19 hrs straight.'_ Neo glared at me as if to punctuate her statement.

"...I guess."

Even I knew that we'd die of exhaustion before we managed to get to the shore in nineteen hours straight. Doesn't mean I don't want to though. I lament the human body's limitations.

"Then how long will it probably take us?"

Neo shrugged. ' _Three or four days?'_

* * *

It'll be taking a lot more than three or four days, of that I'm sure. In fact, it was already the fourth day and we were _just now_ closing in on a third of the way through.

I'm pretty sure I stabbed the boarbatusk a lot harder than necessary. I dodged a beowulf's strike. It got decimated by what I now dub as 'Neo's killer umbrella'. ...I should probably ask for the weapon's name soon.

I transformed my spear into its two sword forms and threw them at the two incoming creeps. They turned to ashes that floated off into the wind.

I pulled the two swords back at me with polarity. The weapons went up in the air, shook, then zoomed towards me. I quickly ducked. The swords embedded themselves into the tree behind me.

My hands shook as I pulled out the swords. I should have better semblance control. I _did_ have better semblance control.

I don't like it.

Neo finished up by slicing through the last Grimm. She inserted her estoc back into the umbrella.

' _We're finished for the day,'_ typed Neo. She looked up at the sky. ' _Unless you fancy a walk through this Grimm-infested forest in the middle of the night.'_

I had learned that Neo has an unparalleled attitude.

I sighed. "Fine." I attached my swords to each side of my hips.

Neo pulled out her lighter. I decided to get the firewood. Rather that then starting the fire.

In a few minute's time, we had a nice little fire set up below us. By then, I was already in a tree _far away_ from the fire.

Neo looked exasperated as she pulled herself into her own tree besides mine. She had gotten used to my unnatural...phobia of fire.

I don't like admitting it. I don't like admitting that _that_ woman changed me too.

I shook my head and started monologuing. It's became a habit of mine the last four days. Maybe it's to distract me. Maybe it's to make up for being _there._ Maybe it's just because Neo was mute and I wanted to hear a person's voice at the very least.

Poor Neo had to be there while I speak nonstop too.

Maybe I should involve her.

I looked up seeing that the stars had finally revealed themselves.

"A dear friend of mine once said that the stars are every passed person who left their legacy to the world. What do you think, Neo?"

' _That's utter bullshit,'_ Neo typed bluntly. ' _Once you're dead you're gone.'_

I winced. Maybe involving Neo wasn't such a good idea. Her outlook on life was...bleak to say the very least.

Neo raised an eyebrow. ' _But if you think you're Pyrrha Nikos, then that means you came back from the dead.'_

I sighed. "I suppose it does sound far-fetched." Did I really expect Neo to believe me even if she decided to call me Pyrrha?

Neo laid back on her bed. She held out her final message for the day.

' _I don't care. Stop bothering me.'_ Neo pocketed her scroll and closed her eyes.

I sweatdropped. What a difficult person.

Oh and I forgot to ask her about her umbrella's name. ...I suppose it'll be staying as 'Neo's Killer Umbrella' for now.

"We already spent four days out," I muttered to myself. "That means it'll take a little more than eight days to get to the shore."

"...it feels like forever."

"Wait for me. I _will_ find the three of you." Team JNPR was the closest thing to family I know and I intend to keep it that way.

* * *

I shot my gun at the poor rabbit. It dropped down, dead.

 _'Good job,'_ congratulated Neo.

I sighed. I walked up the the rabbit and kneeled. "Poor thing."

' _It was going to die some day anyway.'_

That doesn't make it any better," I said, suddenly bitter. "Everyone should be able to live a fulfilling life. Should be able to choose when they die."

Neo frowned. ' _Whatevs. We need the food.'_

Our rations were sadly all depleted now that we're on our eighth day of traveling. We're also still stuck in the forest. ...I'm starting to dislike forests. Neo assures me it was the fastest way though, so I realize that I only associate the forest with slow traveling because it's the only place I've really been traveling through. Minds are tricky like that.

I felt sick to the stomach looking at the rabbit. It reminded me too much of my own mortality. I looked at Neo.

"I hunt, you cook? ...and hold the animals."

Neo glowered.

* * *

Neo sat at the fire. Me? I actively avoided it by leaning on the tree. ...I stayed standing too.

It wasn't a problem. It _wasn't_ a problem. It won't be a problem.

...in the end, I can't help it no matter how much I logically thought it out.

The burning, _burni-_ I took a bite out of Neo's impromptu cooked rabbit meat. It was decent? I wasn't a master in cooking so I wouldn't know, but it was certainly better than what I expected.

I glanced at the kills I managed to get. A few rabbits, some birds, and a fox. I quickly directed my attention to something else.

I looked at my lance that sat on the side of the tree to the right of me. It was coated with rabbit blood... I looked away. I'll have to clean it later.

Oh and I guess I should name the lance. Referring to it that way would be much easier.

"Say Neo? What should I call my weapon?"

Neo looked at me, still biting into her portion of rabbit meat. She didn't deem to answer me until she finished chewing and swallowing her food.

' _I don't know. Don't ask me.'_

...why did I bother?

I painted a mental picture of the weapon in my head. I didn't feel like using an extragant name this time around...The weapon was white and it was red, so perhaps something to do with those colors? Crimson? White? Red? No. Something to do with design and maybe color? Sharp White? Crimson Steel? Combination of colors? Crimson White? White Red?

I rubbed the back of my hood, which I had taken a liking to putting on. At the very least, it covers my face that wasn't really mi-

Hey, there was a white rose symbol on the weapon right? Why not...White Rose?

"White Rose," I tried out.

Neo looked at me.

"My weapon's new name."

She returned to eating.

I like it, I decided. It has a nice ring to it. White Rose it was.

With that decision, my mind started wandering off to dark corners again. No. I needed something to occupy myself. I looked at Neo. Hey, she seemed pretty young. ...how old was she anyway?

I had once learned from somewhere that asking a woman for her age was rude. ...clearly I wasn't good at heeding what I read.

"Neo. Not meaning to be impolite but...how old are you?"

Neo set down her rabbit meat, which she was almost done with. She grabbed her scroll.

' _20.'_

That took me a few seconds to process. Of course, I was so suprised my first thoughts came running out of my mouth.

I should've known monologuing wasn't a good idea.

"2-20!? Omn, you're older than me!"

Neo glared. ' _What do you think I was?'_

"Uh...fifteen or lower-ish?" I realized my mistake. "I-I mean, you're just really short!"

Pyrrha Nikos, extraordinaire conversationalist.

Neo kicked at her umbrella. It flew up into the air and she grabbed it. She pointed it at me threateningly.

I scooted towards my lance. "Hahaha...I need to clean White Rose! See you later!"

I sped out of there _fast._

* * *

I let out a relieved breath. Finally, we found some semblance of civilization. Sure, it was a small remote village but it was _something._ I looked behind me and nearly jumped out of my cloak. Neo seemed to be morphing her appearance from top to bottom. The effect like a cascade of glass.

"Neo?!"

A nearly unrecognizable black haired woman with purple eyes held up her scroll.

' _Semblance: Illusions.'_

"...incredible." It was mildly disturbing but one could appreciate the sheer power of an illusion semblance.

Neo walked into the village. I quickly followed. ...I did notice that Neo's height didn't change with her illusions though.

It was best I kept that to myself.

Seeing so many people was overwhelming. I was absolutely overjoyed and overwhelmed at the same time. It was bright too, nothing like Vale city. Even though I knew the village was but only a fraction of what the city had been, it felt like the most populated area in the world to me.

And the _noise_ people were talking, doing their business. It was amazing. This was what I had lost. What I was missing while I was in _that_ place.

It was beautiful.

Neo had to drag me along because I was gaping.

Then we realized a problem. We were broke.

"We could always sell our kills?" I suggested.

Neo held out her hands.

"...I guess we could go back into the forest to look for animals?" I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of reentering the forest right after just spending nine days in it.

Neo shrugged. ' _Why not?'_

Which was how we ended up scouring the forest for animals to kill. Maybe I should only go after the sick, old ones. At the very least, they already lived out a decent chunk of their life.

I shook my head. I couldn't be picky like this.

Birds suddenly cawed and flew off into the sky. Neo tensed. She knew something was off and so did I. I instinctively put my hands on Crescent Rose's sword hilts.

A loud screech resounded through the forest. I braced myself in the direction of the noise. Whatever Grimm that was out there had to be stopped...especially before it reached the village.

There was a _zzztt_ and another screech.

Then two slams.

Some of that wasn't Grimm sounds. _People._ And I couldn't leave people to face a Grimm. I took off towards the sounds.

I looked back, seeing an annoyed Neo following.

Suddenly, gatling gun rattles went off. The Grimm screeched.

I reached the scene just as a bulky man clad in green armor slammed a giant greatsword into a large nevermore's head, disintegrating it.

I sighed in relief. No need for my help then. Neo caught up to me, looking _not_ happy.

"Why hello there," drawled out a sunglasses wearing woman, walking with swagger up to us. "What brings you people here?"

"...that rhymed."

An oranges hair man with blank eyes crossed his arms. A rabbit faunus twiddled with her thumbs. The man with green armor shouldered his great sword.

I _knew_ these people. Maybe that wasn't entirely true. I knew _of_ these people.

The notorious Second-Year Team.

"Team CFVY."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Aw god. I need sleeeeeppppp. And I WILL get that blessed sleep after I upload this. Damn it, I still need to find song lyrics.**

 **And did you guys see the wicked cover I drew? Cool huh?**

 **No beta today so be prepared for mistakes!**

* * *

 **Just a Note on the Logan Paul Controversy**

 **If you guys don't know what this is, that's fine, move on. But I really need to vent out my opinions here even if this event becomes irrelevant in a couple of days.**

 **So uh...where to start?**

 **Logan Paul was incredibly _rude_** **and _completely disrespectful_ in filming the dead. That was...no words can describe that atrocity. He had _plenty_ of chances to at the very least edit out the whole body scene. And he even had the audacity to use that person for _click bait_ of all things. And this isn't even getting into the cultural wrongdoings, which I could go on and on on. All of it is so...ugh.**

 **Thankfully, the video was taken down by himself and he posted not one, but two much needed apologies.**

 **It won't _excuse_ what he did. But at least he recognizes his wrong doing.**

 **And that video got six MILLION views. Logan has a huge fan base and most of them are kids and those that don't know any better will think, 'hey! What he did was a'ok! Because he's cool'. Maybe Logan doesn't know it, but he influences people and THIS is not good influencing. Not to mention all the people who might be traumatized by the video. Some people ARE going through those thoughts. Have experienced those thoughts. Know someone who did go through with it, who's struggling. It's just so... _horrible,_ in the end.**

 **The dead should not be treated so poorly. Suicide should not be treated so lightly. If you have any problems GET HELP.**

 **That's all.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **knight7572: Waiiittttt for future chapters!**

 **TheSetupMage: oh gods**

 **Lena 'Slipstream' Oxton: Yup! (To what I will not say)**

 **Lloyd RPGFan: *thumbs up**

 **merendinoemilliano: I too am not a fan of Lancaster so that ain't showing up anytime soon in any of my fanfic! As for weird, well define weird.**

 **Nerd315: Pyrrha only faked her transcripts :)**

 **Ravenfire: How indeed...**

* * *

 **Please post Constructive Critisicm and Suggestions!**

 **Review, Favorite, Follow, usual jazz.**


	6. Chp V: Destiny

**Chp V: Destiny**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is sadly (or thankfully) not mine.**

" **/Blood of fire pumping through my veins./" ~ 'Caffeine" by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"Oh?" I believe her name was Coco said. She looked back at her teammates. "See? We _are_ popular."

Honestly, fame wasn't something fun in the slightest. ...or perhaps that was only my experience.

The redhead scoffed. I don't remember his name all that well, Fox, was it?

"Sure," he said.

I noticed that Neo had tensed. Well, I guess she wouldn't be good with people, she _did_ decide to stay in the destroyed part of Vale instead of leaving after all.

"So what's two people doing out here in the forest?" asked Coco. "This place is infested with Grimm."

"W-we were...uh, hunting," I said. I grimaced. This was the first time I've really talked to a person since... I shook my head, not important. I mentally apologized to Neo. Even though she's a great companion, she isn't much of a conversationalist… being mute and all.

The green armored clad member of CFVY frowned. "This is no place for civilians."

I winced at that line. I was the top of my class in Sanctum Academy, one of the top in Beacon, and four time Mistral Champion for Oum's sake. I should be capable.

But I couldn't keep Beacon safe in the end, I couldn't keep Vale safe, I didn't do anything as a huntress in the end.

...at the very least, Neo is accomplished.

Neo glared at the tall man. She held up her scroll. ' _We're perfectly capable, thank you very much.'_

"Oo, sassy," said Coco.

"Huh? What?" asked Fox. Right, he was blind even if one could hardly tell.

Team CFVY waited for Neo to speak up. Obviously, she didn't.

"She's mute," I decided to finally say.

Now Neo's glare was directed at me.

"O-oh sorry," apologized Velvet quickly. I remembered her the most. From what I knew, it seemed that she was held back for failing the academics part of Beacon...and if the rumours are true, she was able to stay because she aced the physical part.

Coco smiled. "Well, we don't care." She spread her hand out at her teammates. "If you didn't already know, I'm Coco, that's Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi."

So Yatsuhashi was the armored man's name.

Velvet gave a little wave.

"My name is Pyrrha," I said automatically. "...and she's Neo."

Maybe I shouldn't have said Pyrrha? But then what else could I say? ...Summer?

' _I can introduce myself.'_ Neo mocked a huff.

"Pyrrha?" asked Coco. "Huh, I could've sworn I heard that name before. Doesn't sound popular though."

"Pyrrha Nikos," supplied Fox. "Four times Mistral Champion, part of Team JNPR, one of the first-year teams in Beacon before the Fall."

"I can always count on you, Fox," said Coco. She peered at me. "Share a name with a famous person? That's rough."

...right. "U-uh, yeah! Haha..."

I should probably think of a 'fake' last name. Nikos was always a less than real last name but I had grown to like it. It was _me_ now.

I didn't want to give it up. I _refuse_ to. Like my first name.

Neo nudged me. She frowned. What was it?

"Yes?"

She non discreetly pointed a thumb behind her. Oh, seems she didn't want to stay.

"Looks like your friend doesn't want to stay here, huh?" said Coco. "No worries, we can escort you guys back."

Neo glared at her. I had a feeling that the problem was Team CFVY, not the forest. Actually, Neo seems to like the forest a lot.

"Hahaha, it's fine. A huntsmen team like Team CFVY is sure to be busy!" I tried.

"Nah," said Coco. "We're just hanging. It'll be no big deal."

Neo glowered. ...she wasn't going to be happy with me.

* * *

Team CFVY was...cool. That's the only way I could really describe them. They just oozed _cool._ Even Velvet, who when she was alone, seemed to be the very definition of, well, _not_ cool. And the fact that we were walking back to the village without a single animal to sell was _very_ not cool...these last few thoughts may be the most informal I've been since...I couldn't even remember.

What's more, Team CFVY showed that Beacon's destruction wasn't the end. That _at least_ some people were doing alright even after I messed up. That maybe, just _maybe_ it wasn't as bad as I first thought.

It felt like something had been lifted from my chest. I think I was worried that Neo might have been wrong. That Team RWBY and Team JNPR was _not_ all okay.

And Team CFVY was my proof that they were alright, or at the very least that they _could_ be alright.

We backtracked through the forest, finding the trail that leads back to the village. Team CFVY talked amongst themselves. Neo was giving me the silent treatment. Well, she was _always_ giving the silent treatment, but this time, she didn't even type on her scroll .

Case in point:

"Sorry," I whispered.

Neo ignored me.

I felt hurt.

Coco swung an arm around my shoulders. I flinched at the suddiness of it.

"Say Pyrrha, what brings you out here?"

"Don't take it personally," suggested Fox. "Coco likes getting into people's personal space…it's worrying actually."

Yatsuhashi chuckled. Neo inched away from Coco, and consequently me.

Coco shrugged. "Just asking." She looked at Fox. "And it's _not_ worrying."

"I'm trying to get to Patch," I said. "To...reach a goal."

Coco patted me on the back, hard. "Goals are good, kid!"

I thought I looked around seventeen. I somehow doubt that could be considered as 'kid'.

Velvet's rabbit ears perked up. "Incoming."

Coco passed me and Neo. She readied her suitcase. "Stay back."

Neo sent eye daggers to the back of the fashionette. She pulled out her umbrella.

I put my hands on White and Rose. I decided that when they weren't a spear, they can be called separately...like Ren's StormFlower.

The rest of Team CFVY positioned themselves around Neo and I. I assume to protect us.

The first Beowulf charged out of the trees and was slammed into the ground by Coco's suitcase. ...her suitcase may just be as dangerous as Neo's umbrella. I personally never understood why one would make an everyday object so destructive.

Then the rest of the horde rushed out. I estimate around twenty, likely more. We must have stumbled upon a Grimm hotspot, and a recent one at that.

Yatsuhashi held out his sword. Fox jumped on. The green-clad huntsman rounded 360 degrees, decimating any Grimm in range. Fox flew off, slicing his blades into the Beowulfs as he landed.

I took a second to marvel at their teamwork before focusing my attention on the incoming Grimm. Team CFVY may be able to hold off the horde by themselves but that didn't mean I would leave them to do it. I was technically a huntress too.

And I needed to be useful in some way.

I unclipped White and Rose from my belt, and connected them together into lance-form. I threw it at the Beowulf Coco was facing down. It pinned the Grimm to a tree before the Grimm dissolved.

Coco looked back in surprise. I gave a quick nod in acknowledgment. I pulled White Rose back to me. The lance came back quicker then anticipated. I swerved to the side. White Rose embedded itself in another Grimm behind me. Neo gave me a nonplussed look as she caught my lance. She threw it at me. I caught it.

Velvet pushed off a tree, slamming her feet into a Beowulf. Neo pierced another Beowulf as it rushed at her.

I rushed out of the now nonexistent circle of protection and speared a Beowulf. I turned just as another one entered my space. I crouched down to the ground, swiping at the Beowulf's feet. It fell and just to make sure, I stabbed White Rose into its back. The Grimm turned to smoke.

I transformed White Rose into its gun forms. I aimed at the Beowulfs engaging in Neo and blasted. It took a few rounds, but the Beowulfs eventually collapsed. Neo threw her umbrella at something behind me. I turned to see the ashes of a Grimm. I looked back. Neo gave me a smug look. I swear I wasn't pouting when I threw her umbrella back at her.

Coco brought out her machine gun, blasting away at all the Grimm in the vicinity. A few seconds later, all that was left was ash.

...everyday objects sure were something to look out for.

Yatsuhashi attached his greatsword to his back. He looked at Velvet. "Caught some of that?"

Velvet nodded, camera in hand. I blinked, when had I miss that?

"We'll have quite the earning today," said Fox, walking up to Yatsuhashi. Neo frowned at him.

Coco transformed her machine gun back into a unsuspecting looking suitcase. A part of me wondered if that ever got through security. No, that would be impossible, that was stupid of me to think.

"I thought you two weren't huntsmen," said Coco, frowning.

"We're not?" I said. I really wasn't sure at this point. Technically, I was always a huntress-in-training but now that I was like... _this,_ does it count?

"Uh... we were never 'official'," I tried explaining.

' _We never said if we were huntsmen or not.'_ Neo intervened. ' _We never gave an answer.'_

"Did I miss that?" Coco asked her team.

"Well they didn't…" admitted Velvet.

"Did I miss something?" asked Fox.

Yatsuhashi whispered in his ear. Fox nodded.

"So, huntsmen or not?" Fox asked, crossing his arms. "Just to be sure."

Yatsuhashi pointed in the direction of the village. "Maybe we should deal with this back in town...or at least walking back to town."

Neo rolled her eyes and started walking down the path.

Team CFVY looked at each other. Coco shrugged and they followed.

I turned White Rose into sword form and latched them onto my belt before walking after them.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said Coco. She swung an arm over her chair. "You're _not_ huntsmen...just people who were trained in killing Grimm."

She peered over her sunglasses. "Or something else."

Neo took a gulp of water. ' _Sure.'_

We sat in a restaurant. I believe it was called 'Everdale'? Either way, the tables were big enough to fit six people so it was a win. Velvet had suggested that we eat...and I had to admit that Neo and I were flat broke. Even though Team CFVY was still unsure of our sketchy abilities, they were nice enough to pay for our food this time.

For helping them take out the Grimm, as Yatsuhashi had put it.

I didn't think they needed the help, so I was grateful that they would do such a thing. ...not a lot of people are that nice.

I decided I would take the least expensive thing on the menu. I don't want to be a bother. So that was how I ended up with a sandwich and some french fries with a side of a glass of water. I set the french fries to the side, they were notoriously unhealthy after all.

Neo had no qualms about not being a bother. She even tried buying alcohol...but was refused because of her height and appearance. She was still fuming.

I laughed a little to try to make the mood lighter. "Well, I was trained in combat and killing Grimm. Neo... I'm actually not sure."

I just realized I knew little to nothing about Neo. Huh.

' _Not important,'_ dismissed Neo. ' _The point is, we aren't helpless civilians.'_

In her already fowl mood, she glared at Yatsuhashi. Yatsuhashi gave an apologetic look.

Coco leaned back. "Well, guess it isn't important, you two seem pretty cool."

' _Anyway, you said something about earnings from Grimm?'_

I blinked. I had forgotten about that.

"You didn't know?" asked Yatsuhashi. "Well, there's-"

Fox huffed. "Someone fill me in. Blind, remember?"

Velvet told him what Neo wrote.

Yatsuhashi continued. "For huntsmen, there's a board for this kind of stuff. Grimm extermination is a big one."

I deflated. "...not huntsmen."

"Don't worry!" Velvet tried cheering me up. "You can ask around for payment from villagers for special offers."

"We'll try that," I decided. Though I felt a little wrong asking people in that manner...it hit a little too close to home. Even besides that, shouldn't helping people be free?

Neo frowned. She stayed silent...er, less active then usual. Perhaps she was thinking?

"I don't get how you two have no money at all," said Fox. "That's stupid."

...it was, wasn't it? How was I supposed to explain that?

Neo quickly typed out something. ' _We came from Vale, we lost everything in the Fall.'_

The Fall? Is that what people call it? I suddenly felt my mood dampening. I set my eyes on the table.

...I guess it was true wasn't it? I _did_ lose everything in the Fall. Even...even myself, in a way.

"...yeah," I said.

"Hey, it's okay," said Velvet, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We lost a lot too."

She looked at her teammates. They nodded.

"I'll catch whoever was responsible," growled Coco, aura flaring. "Who the hell do they think they are?!"

Neo flinched for some reason.

My breath caught in my throat. Images of _that_ woman invaded my mind. Her menacing glowing eyes, her _voice,_ the fire-no no no! Get her out of my head! I can't-not again-

Everything turned black.

* * *

 _It hurts. Everything hurts. I tried to stand up or at least sit up. But I can't. Spots appeared in my vision._

 _I know it would end like this, didn't I? The moment I decided to chase after this woman._

 _Oum, it hurts...like hell. It hurts like hell._

" _It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours," drawled the woman, stepping around me._

 _The moment seemed to go on forever. I couldn't focus on anything. I had to get up, didn't I? I had to stop her. I can't let her get away with this! ...my mind feels foggy._

 _The woman's hand was suddenly on my chin. She lifted my head up. I tried to struggle...but I couldn't. It was like my whole body was shutting down on me._

 _The woman was looking me in the eyes now. I was powerless to at least look away._

" _But take comfort in knowing that_ I _will use it in ways you could never have imagined," the woman said._

 _...I don't know what to think about that. Actually, I couldn't think about anything._

 _But with the last of my strength, I pulled away from her anyway._

 _I don't know why I said what I said. ...maybe I_ did _know. Maybe it was buried in the back of my mind._

 _Somehow, I just knew to say it._

" _Do you believe in destiny?"_

 _The woman looked taken aback. She focused on me. "Yes."_

 _She stepped back. A bow formed in her hand._

 _I knew it. This was the end._

 _She pulled the string back...and fired._

* * *

My eyes flashed open. I pulled in a strangled breath. I rested an arm against my head. That was when I realized I was shaking...badly.

I took in another breath to calm myself down. And then another. I held my arm until I stopped shaking.

I need something to take my mind off of _that._ I was in a bed. Sunlight was streaming through the windows. I was in a room, as one would expect when they're in a bed. From what I knew, this room looked like a standard inn. I'll have to give my thanks to Team CFVY then. And apologize to Neo for being such an inconvenience all the time.

On a chair was my cloak. And on a table was White and Rose and my scroll. I sat up and pushed myself off of bed. Taking a few steps, I reached the chair and grabbed my cloak.

...I was attached to an inanimate object.

No matter, I pulled it around me and pinned the large cross insignia down. Why a cross? Who knows.

I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. It seems like a good way to shock a person out of their dilemma.

The cold water was relieving in a way. Like I was washing away my worries Sadly, I wasn't one to leave my face dripping wet so I had to wipe the water off.

...and my problems will always come back to haunt me.

There was a mirror in the bathroom. Which made sense. I was greeted with a face that was not mine. That certainly didn't help matters.

I grabbed my scroll, White and Rose before exiting the room. Then I realized I had a dilemma. How was I supposed to find anyone?

That was luckily solved when a door opened to reveal Neo, though still in her illusion.

She was rubbing her eyes. Then she noticed me and glared.

"Uh...hi?" I tried.

Que a mocked huff and Neo returned to her room.

"W-wait!" I really did want to know what was going on. So I rushed into Neo's room before she closed the door...I realized this was the very definition of _not_ proper etiquette.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized quickly.

Neo crossed her arms.

"...I just want to know what happened."

She pulled out her scroll. ' _You passed out and you decide to wake up at four in the morning.'_

"It's four?!" I exclaimed. "Uh...I mean, I guessed as much that I passed out."

I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room that was identical to mine.

Neo sat into a chair and crossed her legs. This was one of the moments I realized that, yes, Neo was three years older than me even if she didn't look like it.

' _The big man with the bad haircut had to carry you to an inn. Bunny ears was going on about Post Traumatic Stress or something.'_

I blushed when I realized that Yatsuhashi had to carry me and sweatdropped at the nicknames. ...and this was one of the moments when it feels like Neo is younger then me.

Post traumatic stress? Looking at it from a logical view point, that _would_ make sense.

But even if I do have it, I couldn't let it stop me. Not now. I need to keep moving forward.

"And Team CFVY?"

' _They went off somewhere. Something about a job for Glynda? Oh and Coco typed this:'_

Neo pulled up another note.

' _You guys were pretty cool. Wouldn't mind hanging again one day… as long as you pay us back for the inn. Jk!'_

I thought it before, but Team CFVY was cool. They're what I aspire to be. They're people that make the world a better place.

I smiled. "That was nice of them."

Even if Coco was fine with not being paid back, I was going to pay them back anyway. It was the least I could do.

' _Whatevs,'_ typed Neo. ' _Our goal is still Patch, right? Well, I have a plan."_

I blinked. "A plan?"

Neo grinned. ' _It's nice and simple, like any good plan.'_

* * *

Well, I suppose it _was_ nice and simple. It consisted of a single sentence. 'Do a favor for someone who owns a boat and ask them for the boat as repayment.' I decided to add 'ask them for a ride' and 'ask to _borrow_ their boat' as acceptable repayment too.

It turned out that barely anyone in the small village owned boats. And those that did gave us the evil eyes when we asked for them as payment for deeds. By the time we finished asking everyone it was already noon and I was buried with guilt.

"I don't think it's nice to be asking people for things in return for favors," I explained to Neo when she asked why I was so down.

' _That's stupid,'_ she bluntly refuted.

I didn't have the energy to argue with her. I dragged my hand through the mess of red and black hair that was not mine but mine at the same time.

"What do you suggest we do now?" I asked.

' _Go to the port, duh. Obviously people will have boats there.'_

Well, I couldn't argue with that logic. And the port was only a few hours journey away, on a _road._ Which meant no forest grounds to cover and no _fire_.

"Neo," I said, realizing something. "We're still broke."

Neo was unresponsive for a moment. ' _That guy said he would pay us for chopping wood, right?'_

* * *

The quick journey from one active civilization to another was a blessing. Instead of ending up stalling for days, we were actually _on time_ with the Remnant Positioning System.

I ran to the edge of the port and looked out at the sea. The waters seemed to glisten as the sun slowly went down. A contrast of blue, gold, and orange illuminated the scenery.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked.

Neo took off her illusion. She rolled her eyes but made no sarcastic or witty comments like I expected.

I think she agreed with me but didn't want to admit it.

But this... _this_ was what I decided to leave when I made my choice. Along with so many other things.

I don't like the doubt that keeps on digging into me.

I tore my eyes away from the imagery.

"...we have a ship to find," I said.

We did find a ship. Or to be more exact, we found a captain willing to take us on his ship.

...for a price.

Looks like Neo's plan would work. It was much better than what I had originally planned back in Vale, it was actually legal for one.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have felt all that bad when we were asking the people back in the village. It was nicer compared to the alternative.

The captain, who demanded we call him Dolphin, gave us one simple task.

"All ya need to do is clear the air of that horde of Lancers bothering us all the time," said Dolphin. "It's the perfect time too. Night's falling, they're back in their nests at the moment."

' _We don't fly,'_ Neo typed.

"And I ain't expecting ya to." Dolphin handed a jar to me. "Open 'dat and they'll come running."

"All of 'em," he warned. "So be careful."

* * *

Apparently the Lancers lived in a cave near the port. From what Dolphin told us, they enjoyed destroy ships and the like. Meaning they could break through steel. Joy.

Which was where Neo had the amazing plan of burning them all alive with fire.

I was not particularly into the plan.

"There must be a better option," I said as we made our way to the cave. I pushed away a branch.

' _Deal with it. There isn't.'_

"But the people who live at the docks _must_ have already tried fire," I reasoned. "Maybe the Lancers are invincible to fire too."

' _Shut up,'_ Neo demanded.

"I'm just saying-"

Neo pulled out her lighter and I shut up. D-did she just use my fear against me?

Thankfully, it turned out I was wrong. We had reached the cave and I just didn't notice. It was also way too fast for my tastes.

"How should I uh…" I swallowed. "Help."

Neo looked at me and mocked a sigh. ' _You need to get over that pyrophobia.'_

I know I did. But the idea of pushing my boundaries until I _wasn't_ afraid of fire made me sick to the stomach.

' _Give me some branches,'_ ordered Neo. She put away her scroll. Then she grabbed the nearest branch she could find and pulled it off.

I started doing the same.

Once Neo managed an armful of branches, she set them down at the entrance of the cave.

So that's her idea. No way out and no way to stay in because of a lack of oxygen.

Actually, do Grimm need oxygen? Professor Port never mentioned if they did or not. And I should know, I wrote down and memorized everything he said of importance...as in anything that wasn't his life story.

I pulled out another branch and set it in my stack. It seemed like enough so I set it down in front of the entrance too.

Rinse and repeat until the floor before the cave entrance was littered with wood.

' _Take out the jar,'_ typed Neo after pulling out her scroll again. ' _When I give the signal, open it.'_

I frowned. "What signal?"

Suddenly, a corgi appeared out of thin air.

"...right," I said. It _was_ a very distinctive signal.

The corgi disappeared in a shatter of glass.

Neo put away her scroll and lit up her lighter.

I controlled myself and only backed away until the first tree. When Neo saw me stop, she set the woods on fire. She quickly stepped back.

A corgi appeared next to me.

I opened the jar.

A honey-like smell emitted from it. It was very...pleasant?

Even so, the scene afterwards certainly wasn't pleasant.

The Lancers rushed out. The first one were quickly burned into oblivion. It quickly became a disturbing show of ash and fire.

But no, it couldn't be that simple. Some of the Lancers had to manage to get through. I needed to make sure they were exterminated.

Neo slashed through a Lancer with her estoc.

I shook my head. I can't be selfish like this. I can't just leave Neo to deal with everything. I needed to help in some way.

I pulled out White and Rose and transformed them into gun form. I blasted at the Lancers that managed to get through.

Then the trigger clicked, but nothing came out. I was out of bullets and dust. And my semblance was an unreliable mess.

Meaning the only choice I had was to attack the Lancers head on. Near the fire.

I-I suppose Neo _did_ say I had to get over my pyrophobia.

A good first start?

I walked closer to the flames. White and Rose transformed into their lance form.

I froze. I could feel the heat emanating from the flames. My mind flashed back to _that-_ stop. No. you're being stupid, Pyrrha.

 _It's just fire._ I reminded myself.

A Lancer suddenly zoomed in front of me. On instinct, I speared through it. I ended up stopping behind the Lancer. It burst into smoke. I looked in front of me.

Then I quickly stumbled back. I fell.

A wave of flames was looming over me. It was coming closer. I felt the fire on my face. I was burning, like _before._

I blanked out.

When I recovered consciousness, I was back to the tree again. And panting and drenched with sweat.

W-what? Did I lose control? Like last time?

Neo stabbed a Lancer in the back and jumped off. She looked at me incredulously.

I knew what she was asking. _What is wrong with you?_

I don't know! I don't understand! Why was this happening to me?!

A loud buzzing filled the air. Even more so then before. I turned my attention to it.

….oh, that was a big wasp.

Why did it need to be the size of a cargo airship?

Neo turned to see what I was looking at. She tensed.

The large Lancer opened its mandibles and a loud screech rushed out.

I risked a look behind it. No more Lancers were appearing...and the fire was dying out.

I could work with that.

Focus on the Grimm. Nothing else. Clear the mind. Calm oneself. I pointed White Rose at it.

Neo did the same with her umbrella. Her estoc in her other hand.

The Lancer flipped on its back. A giant stinger shot out of the end of its abdomen.

Neo expanded her umbrella, blocking it. I ran at the Lancer. Positioning White Rose, I slashed at the ending of the abdomen where the body started.

The Lancer sped away right as my lance made contact. It buzzed at me furiously from the sky.

It was intelligent.

Now how was I supposed to reach it? I looked at Neo. Her umbrella was still expanded.

 _Arkos._

"Neo, tilt your umbrella a little and hold it still!"

Neo frowned at me.

"Just do it!"

She begrudgingly complied.

I ran at it and flipped so my feet would hit the umbrella. I used the force to jump into the air. White Rose was ready.

The Lancer was pierced through the heart (if it had one).

It struggled, its mandibles trying to get me. I pulled White Rose out of the Grimm. It disintegrated.

Then I was falling. Clearly, I hadn't thought this through completely.

"Woah, got ya, girl!" Dolphin appeared out of nowhere. He caught me.

"Ugh," I managed.

Neo threw her estoc at what I assumed was the last Lancer from the cave.

' _Where the hell were you?!'_ typed Neo, pulling out her scroll with lightning speed.

"Eh, watching," said Dolphin.

' _While we risk our lives?!'_

"Look on the bright side, kid! For doing such a good job I'll let you on the ride _and_ pay you!"

Neo twitched. I place my bet it was from being referred to as a kid.

* * *

I leaned over the cruise, letting the wind blow my cape's hood off my head. Neo was on her scroll, her back to the ocean. We were finally on our way to Patch.

' _When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.'_

I had once said to Jaune, didn't I? Even if it felt like...like a whole other lifetime ago.

So what do I work for now?

I work to reunite with Team JNPR again.

What then?

To make the world a better place and protect it, like I always wanted.

But I've seen things that are supposed to be legend, supposed to be impossible.

What was out there that stood against me and my destiny?

' _Do you believe in destiny?'_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hello peeps! It's been a week! Poor Pyrrha is just bottling up everything and suffering from some serious PTSD (I'm _not_ enjoying this, I swear)...and I should really be doing homework. **

**Beta is to bro as always.**

* * *

 **Clementine Davidson: ...yeah, I really should've been sleeping…**

 **TheSetupMage: Wow, I think that's a really nice way to live, man. You're amazing.**

 **bayhon282004: Yeah, I think so too. Hope I don't disappoint with the story.**

 **merendinoemiliano: *thumbs up* good luck to your story!**

 **Nerd315: Hm...my lips are sealed. =)**

 **Salem236: Next week...next week.**

 **Lena 'Slipstream' Oxton: I assume not seeing as they had never met her and I doubt Neo shows up without an illusion too much.**

 **Engineer1869: I'll explain that in a later chapter. For now, it's a mystery. And I don't think Pyrrha really** _ **wants**_ **to be convincing too many people considering her past experiances with fame, so yeah.**

 **TJMike: Always glad to gain a follower =). There will most** _ **definitely**_ **be a ruining. Everything else is tight lipped. And yeah...Pyrrha is fading into the background now isn't she? I think it might be because of how...well, basic her character is. Y'know, basic heroine stuff (which is why I'm adding a mysterious past) but that's just my opinion.**

 **Firestar001: Of course!**

* * *

 **Really do appreciate the Constructive Criticisms and Suggestions!**

 **Please Review, Favorite, and Follow if you think it's worth it!**


	7. Chp VI: Patch

**Chp VI: Patch**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY and RT are not owned by me...sadly.**

 **"/Long ago, before we met/ I dreamed of you/" ~ 'All Our Days' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

I said thanks to Dolphin. Neo did not. She tilted her head up and walked away. ...clearly she could hold a grudge. I followed Neo off the ship. We passed by only a few people, maybe four or seven. It seemed Patch wasn't a place many people go or lived on for that matter.

We stepped onto land. It was just a sandy coast with a few tiny docks. Ahead of us was a...forest.

Oh no.

But at least there was a cleared out trail?

I turned to Neo. "You wouldn't happen to know where Yang lives?"

Neo looked at me like I was stupid.

I took that as a no.

I refuse to comb through the entire island looking for the house of a teenager. ...actually, I don't even know what Yang's house looks like. Or who she lives with. I assume her parents? Ruby always _did_ talk about her mother a lot.

Hm...parents, huh?

I paced in circles around Neo in frustration. Neo put on an illusion of a pink haired girl with green eyes. For what, I have no idea. It wasn't as if there were many people of Patch. In fact, we were the only people on the coast now.

Honestly, this will be like searching for a needle in a haystack. I take that back, I could simply use polarity to find the needle. ...barring any complication with my semblance.

It'll be like looking for a piece of blonde hair in a haystack.

I stopped in my tracks. This was Yang Xiao-Long I was thinking about. She was loud and I'm reasonably confident she was an outdoors person. So I would just have to look for a loud blonde.

Wait. Either way, Neo and I would be wandering through the island.

I couldn't even gather information because there was no one to gather information from!

I sighed. "Neo?"

' _Yeah?'_

"...how long do you think it'll take for us to search the island?"

' _Shit.'_

"Language!"

* * *

The Island turned out to be better than I expected. It actually felt weirdly familiar in a way. I knew we were wandering around, but it felt like we was going _somewhere_ at least.

...and it would feel that way a lot more if the sun wasn't setting and Neo and I had still gotten absolutely nowhere in our search for Yang.

What we _did_ find was Signal Academy though. I'd forgotten that the academy was located on Patch. I wanted to hit myself.

The academy was nowhere near as grand as Beacon. In fact, it was minuscule in comparison. Maybe I would give it the benefit of the doubt and say it was around six times smaller. The walls were pure white and one small tower jutted out from the ceiling.

If it was the weekends, there would still be plenty of activity. Then I assume it's summer break, seeing as it was, well, the summer and no one seemed to be in the building. If it was the weekends, there would still be plenty of activity

It's a better assumption then perhaps the Fall of Beacon had tremendous effects on all of Sanus.

But there should still be staff inside the building regardless of the time of year. Or even students doing summer school. And Yang lives on Patch. So she probably went to Signal. The staff might know her. It was worth a try.

I walked up to the main doors. Just as I was about to push the intercoms, a blue haired woman stepped out of the school with stacks of papers in hand. She wobbled unsteadily.

"Woaaah!" She tripped, papers flying everywhere.

I immediately grabbed some of the papers in the air.

"Neo!" I hissed.

She rolled her eyes but bent down to pick up papers anyway.

I walked to the woman and held out a hand. She gripped onto it. The woman pulled herself up.

"Thank-" Her eyes widened almost comically. Her grip on my hand tightened. " _Summer?"_

 _...who?_ "I...uh, no?" I stammered.

She looked at me more closely. "Oh, sorry! Too young! Green eyes too." The woman let go of my hand.

"That attire…" muttered the woman.

I blinked quizzically.

Neo held out the papers to the woman grumpily. ...I have a feeling she won't be happy with me later. Really, Neo had to work on being nice. Being nice is a virtue that one must constantly achieve.

The woman brushed dirt off her black skirt. She grabbed the sheets of paper from Neo. "Thank you, young lady."

Neo straightened proudly. It seems one way to gain her favor was calling her 'young lady' and not 'kid' or anything with the same meaning. Hm...maybe I could use that to gain her favor more?

"Oh and you too!" The woman smiled at me. A warm feeling welled up in my stomach. It was a genuine smile, not one for gaining favors like I was constantly used to.

"Anything I could do for you ladies?"

"Yes, actually," I said. Normally I would decline to take up on an offer such as this, but 'normal' wasn't me now. "Would you happen to know where Yang Xiao-Long lives?"

The woman looked at me in surprise. "Yang? You know her?"

"Yes, from Beacon." Speak the truth and only the truth, I had always preached.

"Wow, what an odd coincidence." The woman gave me a once over again. As if she would expect to see something completely different in place of me.

It made me uncomfortable. "So…"

"Oh right! Well, I don't know where she _lives._ But I do know her, she was a student of mine actually, real bright, a little too hot headed and rebellious but I mean teenagers right? Wait, I never introduced myself! Call me Ms. Storm, please. Oh my, I'm rambling again!"

Neo gave Ms. Storm an unimpressed look. I sweatdropped. Some people just like to give out information nonstop don't they? She would be an easy target for information gatherers. Though with that assumption I'd have to assume she has some valuable information first. I had a feeling Ms. Storm wasn't given too much secrets.

"Right! I do know who she lives _with_ though," continued Ms. Storm. "Her father."

She laughed. "I mean who else? But all jokes aside-"

Neo gave me a look as if to say 'what joke?'. I sent her a look of my own that I hoped she my disapproving of her behavior.

"-his name is Taiyang Xiao Long. A colleague of mine. Such a nice gentleman. Handsome too. I can see how he landed two women." Ms. Storm put a hand to her mouth. "Oh I shouldn't have said that!"

No, I don't think you should've.

"It's okay! It's okay!" I waved my hands around frantically. "Uh...nice to know! Any place we can find this Taiyang?"

Ms. Storm frowned. "Well there is this place…I don't think it's a place two nice girls like you two should go though."

And just like that, Neo's respect of Ms. Storm disappeared into thin air. She glowered at the teacher.

"No, that's fine," I said to her, putting false confidence in my voice. "We're trained and fully armed."

"And I don't think it's a place anyone but a few should go." Ms. Storm focused on Neo and I. He voice was laced with reluctance.

I looked at her in what I hoped was a pleading expression. " _Please._ It's extremely important. If there's even a little chance…"

Ms. Storm's eyes softened. "Is this really that important to you?"

"Very." I needed to find my team. To see if they were alright. I _needed_ to know. And nothing was going to stop me.

Ms. Storm turned to the left side of Signal. "See that forest?"

...how could I not? And I don't like where this conversation was going.

"If you go through it in that direction, there will be a hill, I believe. I've never been there myself. On that hill will be a...gravestone. Taiyang visits there every once in a while."

I shivered involuntarily. Of all things-a _grave?_ The world certainly had poor taste.

I swallowed the bile rising up in my throat. "Right then…we'll, uh, be off. Sorry for bothering you, Ms. Storm."

"Oh one more thing! Beowulfs are very common on Patch, so be careful," warned Ms. Storm. She looked up at the sky. "And really, it's quite dark out now. Maybe go tomorrow?"

"No, that'll be okay," I said, feet already taking me to the forest. "They say the early bird gets the caterpillar!"

Neo stared at me.

"What?"

Ms. Storm sweatdropped. "I believe it's 'the early bird gets the worm'?"

I blushed. "Y-yeah. Neo, let's go!"

Neo unenthusiastically followed me, dragging her feet.

"Coincidence?" I heard Ms. Storm mutter.

* * *

Forests are dreadful things. They are often populated by grimm. Often have no place for rests. And often make haunted sounds. I, Pyrrha Nikos, am not a fan of forests.

I feel petty.

Ms. Storm was correct. There was in fact Beowulf.

Neo suddenly cut in front of me. She sliced apart a Beowulf into several tiny pieces.

I'm not sure how I feel about the unnecessary brutality, but there was no time to dwell upon that. I swerved and kicked at the feet of another Beowulf. It wobbled unsteadily. I stabbed through it with White Rose. Instincts flared. I turned, slicing through a Beowulf in mid-lunge. I kicked off the ground, slamming my feet into a third Beowulf. It crashed into a tree and turned to smoke.

Neo striked at the throat of another Beowulf. She blocked the claws of an attacking one, before jumping onto it. With a twirl, she decapitated it.

I seperated White Rose into swords. I threw one at a Beowulf. Then I slid to the ground, slicing at the waist of another. I rolled and grabbed the sword I threw. Holding it like a dagger, I jumped. I flipped in midair and stabbed into a Beowulf's back.

Neo rounded on a group of beowulf. She cut them all in two in one strike.

I decided that I wasn't in a risky situation at the moment. And I _did_ need to work on my semblance. I threw White, the sword in my right hand, at an incoming row of Beowulf. It stabbed through all three and embedded itself into a tree. I reached out with my hand. White came flying back faster than anticipated. Before it reached me, I made it swerve. It hit two more Beowulf before getting lodged into the ground.

That was one way to negate my current predicament with polarity at least.

Neo hit a Beowulf with a flurry of slashed. Without even looking, she decapitated the last one.

' _Oh look at the time. Guess we'll be spending the night here,'_ she commented.

I frowned. "The hill is probably only a few minutes away…"

Neo rolled her eyes. ' _Sure, a few minutes filled with Grimm. I'm pooped. We're taking a break.'_

That was basically an order wasn't it? "But…"

Neo began gathering firewood.

Weren't we basically partners now? I believe partners make decisions _together._ Neo would never replace Jaune, of course but _still._

...I didn't want to go on my own. I didn't like being alone.

I started gathering firewood too.

I blinked as I set down a stack of firewood. I just realized Neo had taken off her illusion sometime before. ...was it during the fighting with Grimm? Scary I didn't even notice.

"When did you take off your illusion?" I asked. It wasn't like there was anything stopping me from asking. And I _was_ interested.

Neo had taken off her gloves and were shaking them with one hand. Wood splinters flew off.

Impressively, she could type one-handed. A task I find near impossible.

' _First Grimm duh. Illusions are hard to keep up.'_

"Huh." That would make sense. Illusions are Neo's semblance. Semblance take energy and aura. It would be incredibly taxing, not to mention illogical, to keep up anyone's semblance during strenuous activity.

* * *

I never liked cemeteries. I never liked gravestones. I tend to try to stay away from depressing places in general. They brought up too many memories.

Most buried in the past. But recent events have...changed things, for lack of better terminology.

 _Summer Rose_

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter_

It was a beautiful gravestone, I would give it that, at least. One that wasn't overly ceremonial, seemingly celebrating death, and one that wasn't devoid of anything, in an attempt to forget about man's mortality. A grey slab with a rose etched in and those words…

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter_

I leaned on a tree.

A dull pang echoed throughout my head. I held my head.

' _There's no chance he'll come,'_ Neo stated with her scroll. ' _We could always try something else.'_

"No. This is the best lead we have."

Neo shrugged. She sat down cross legged. An illusion appeared around her. This time of a freckled girl with spikey black hair and striking blue eyes.

' _Take your time then. I've got all day.'_

I focused on the gravestone, ignoring my throbbing head. _Summer Rose._ Yang's father visited this grave often. Ruby always talked about her mother.

The children of deceased parents often talk about their parents in the present tense.

I see.

With confidence, I could assume this Summer Rose is Yang and Ruby's deceased mother.

It rubbed me the wrong way.

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter._ Why do I keep returning to that line?

Ashes scatter.

I wrenched.

Neo turned her head.

"...I'm fine," I said weakly. I pulled myself back together.

...ashes scatter. _I'm_ scattered. I found it strangely hard to breath.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exh-

" _S-summer?"_

I feel like I've heard those words before. Of course, Ms. Storm.

I turned.

There was a blonde man standing in shock. He wore a brown leather vest and brown cargo shorts. His mouth opened and closed.

I felt uncomfortable. I shifted nervously. .

Neo stood up. ' _Taiyang Xiao Long, I presume?'_

Leave it to Neo to get the job done.

"U-uh yeah."

He sounded more adult than I would've thought. Perhaps it was his appearance? He gave off a vibe of a not-so-serious type. Like Yang, actually.

' _Pyrrha's been looking for you.'_

I'm not sure if that was throwing me under the bus or not, Neo.

"Pyrrha. That's you?" Taiyang looked at me.

"Uh yes, sir."

He narrowed his eyes. "You have green eyes."

I blinked. "So I do?"

"So, what do you need me for?" Taiyang crossed his arms. He still looked thoroughly unnerved by something. Presumably me from all the context clues.

"Actually, Mr. Xiao Long, I'm looking for Yang. You're daughter."

"Yang? Why?"

"Uh...Beacon stuff."

"Beacon stuff," he repeated.

"Yes…?"

"And who are you again?

"Pyrrha?"

Taiyang was not impressed. "Pyrrha what? Pyrrha from where? Pyrrha who belongs to which team?

The moment of truth. Pyrrha Nikos or not Pyrrha Nikos. I looked at Taiyang and was met with considerable doubt I could lie to him without being caught.

Lying was never my strong suit. Conveniently 'forgetting' information, yes. Lying, no.

Any information broker's worst nightmare is meeting a client who asks for all the details, not what they want to hear.

I swallowed. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos. I come from Mistral. I belong to Team JNPR."

There was a few seconds of pure silence.

"...Kid, either you're the best liar in the world or what's coming out of your mouth is the actual truth," said Taiyang. "I'm leaning towards the former. Pyrrha Nikos is dead. It was all over the news, I've got multiple sources too."

I winced. Reminders were very much unnecessary, thank you. And all over the _news?_ Oum.

"And I'm pretty sure you don't look like Pyrrha Nikos or am I just growing old?" Taiyang raised an eyebrow. "So...why should I let you anywhere near my daughter?"

I racked my brain for any way to prove my identity to Taiyang. I barely knew him. He barely knew me.

Taiyang tapped his foot on the ground.

What did I know? He's a teacher in Signal. He's the father of Ruby and Yang. He's Summer's-

He's the father of Ruby and Yang. Who for some reason have different last names and basically had zero resemblance to each other.

"I can prove I know Yang, at least," I said. "She's Ruby's older sister."

Taiyang's eyes widened. "Alright Pyrrha. They don't really keep that a secret. How can I trust you?"

An idea came forth from the back of my brain. I had an unusual feeling it would work. Well, I had nothing to lose.

"The Maidens," I blurted.

Neo noticeably stiffened.

Taiyang looked around. "Now you've got my attention. But really, this isn't the kind of stuff you should just be throwing out."

"Right, my apologies."

"Your friend know?"

"Uh…Neo?" I looked at her. I seriously doubt she would. Oh dear, the Maidens are supposed to be a secret. I just messed-

Neo nodded.

Taiyang sighed. "Let's get going then."

I blinked, stupefied. I looked back at Neo. She was looking at me as if seeing me for the first time. Not knowing what else to do, I beckoned at her to come with. Neo's steps were deliberate as she followed behind us.

It seemed like the less I knew about Neo every day.

"So…" Taiyang said as we walked. "Mind telling me where you got your clothes?"

"Uh…" What could I say? I was miraculously revived wearing these clothes? And, really, what a strange question to ask.

"Let's just say I go out on a leg and say I believe your Pyrrha Nikos, changes anything?"

I frowned. I suppose if Taiyang knew about the Maidens than my situation wouldn't be much of a stretch?

But at the same time, I didn't particularly wanted to discuss my literal life story.

"I kind of just appeared with them?"

Taiyang looked at me in an indiscernible way. The way where you just know someone has many different thoughts and emotions in that look. It was stupidly hard to tell what a person was thinking when they're like this.

Though from Taiyang's expression, I could assume unease? Uncomfortableness? Both feelings I would rather not give a person.

There was a little mysticism too, as if something about me just didn't add up.

"Yeah, alright," he finally said.

I let out a breath I wasn't aware I was holding.

"You called me Summer," I said. "Why?"

Two people in as many days. Who was Summer? I didn't know anyone with tha-

Oh.

 _Summer Rose_

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter_

...it didn't make any sense.

Taiyang looked pained. Actually, he looked pained just looking at me.

"...maybe later, kid." He looked ahead. "Maybe later."

I already had a feeling and it wasn't one I liked.

I ignored it. Because, ha, there was no way, right? It was impossible. Pure and simple.

We found a trail. Or Taiyang took Neo and I to a trail. Well, it hardly mattered.

A few minutes later, we came across a clearing. Behind it was a large wooden house, two stories high would be my guess.

"Dad! Ready to star-uh..." A blonde girl ran up to Taiyang. She noticed Neo and I, halting to an abrupt stop.

"W-who...are they?"

It sounded like she was about to ask 'who is she?' with the 'she' directed to me.

She wore a grey jacket over an orange tank top and grey cargo pants. But there was something wrong and it made me sick to the stomach. Dizzy. Light-headed.

My throat went dry.

In place of what _should_ be her normal, flesh right arm...was a white robotic arm.

"...Yang, w-what happened to you?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Joy! Another chapter! Hope I didn't disappoint with Taiyang and Yang's reactions because I know a lot of people were looking forward to that :) and we're already at 99 Follows, wow 0_o this is my best performing story ever!**

 **Beta is bro.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Inkless0: Of course it will! How could it not?**

 **Lena 'Slipstream' Oxton: You're right...but I don't think Pyrrha had much choice in the matter so she had to ask for favors 0_o.**

 **Salem236: I can't write that fasssst!**

 **TheSetupMage: I read everything. And can I just say you're an amazing person? Because looking towards the future and changing for the better is something that's hard to do. But I think when you at least _try_ or _do_ than you're already way amazing. I look up to you, TheSetupMage. :)**

 **Clementine Davidson: hope I didn't disappoint!**

 **bayhon282004: here's the next Chp!**

 **merendinoemilliano: Yup, you bring up a good point (;**

 **Firestar001: Here's half of the answer to you're wondering!**

 **Engineer1869: They're _finally_ in Patch! Yeassssss! ...wait, I'm the one writing the story...**

 **grifman275: Addiction is not very good for you...unless it's _my_ story. Plz stay addicted. I will keep on dropping chps.**

* * *

 **Always appreciate the Constructive Critisicm and Suggestions!**

 **If you wish, Review, Favorite and/or Follow!**


	8. Chp VII: Mystery

**Chp VII: Mystery**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY *whaaaaa?!***

 **"/Then it turned out life was far less like a bedtime story/Than a tragedy with no big reveal of the hero's glory/" ~ 'Let's Just Live' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"...Yang, w-what happened to you?"

I stepped back involuntarily. My face must be as pale as a sheet. There was definitely something wrong here.

Yang was supposed to have _two_ perfectly good arms. Not one and then a robot arm.

I felt like I had been punched in the guts. Yang was definitely _not_ okay. This was definitely _not_ okay. And it was all _my_ fault. If I had just taken the Fall Maiden powers none of this would have happened.

With half of the powers, I could've fought against _her_ on even footing. I could've stopped so many lives from ending or-or coming to _this._

Yes, it was all my fault in the end.

I knew how much Yang valued her abilities. She flaunted them pretty much every time I was with her.

Losing an arm must be devastating.

I couldn't imagine it.

My life ended with regret. But at least I didn't have to keep on living with a constant reminder of something that would never be there again.

...fine, that may not be technically true. I would never have my _true_ body back ever again, but at least I was _whole._

Yang stiffened. "... _Mom?"_

What? No, no, no. Just no.

Taiyang quickly put a hand on her shoulder. "Uh...no. She just, er...looks like her and sounds like her. Weird coincidence, it's nothing to worry about."

"She's like, seventeen, anyways."

"Training's canceled today! Let's all go to the living room and get to know each other better, alright?"

Taiyang pushed Yang to the house and gave me a meaningful glance.

"Y-yeah." I looked at Neo. "Uh...let's go."

She frowned. ' _I think I'll stay out here.'_

"What? Why?"

' _I don't like houses.'_

That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

"Neo, we both know that's not true."

Taiyang and Yang were already at the doorsteps by now.

Neo crossed her arms. She shook her head.

...she _is_ older than me. I have no rights ordering her to do anything.

"Fine, just stay safe."

She gave me an incredulous look like, ' _how am I_ not _supposed to stay safe?'_

Point.

"Well, see you later."

I hurried to the house.

Taiyang held the door open for me. "Your friend not coming?"

"She doesn't want to."

"Uh…?"

"I have no idea."

"Okay thennn."

"Weird," commented Yang.

I stepped into the house. It was nice and cozy. The door opened to a living room. It was big, spacious. The green carpet on the floor, the couch, the numerous little decorations, and the hologram certainly made it feel...happy. Like there was no evil in the world or something of that nature.

It felt oddly familiar too, like I've seen it someplace before. I suppose that was to be expected of such a picture perfect house.

I'm a little jealous, actually. What? No, you can't be _jealous,_ that's ridiculous. Pyrrha Nikos, you should be _happy_ for them.

Oh gods, I'm talking to myself in third-person.

"Right, so this is our gig," said Taiyang. He walked into another room. "Not much, but it gets the job done."

 _Not much?_ I knew people that would do _anything_ for a house like this.

"I think it's nice," I said.

"Uh...when are we getting introduced?" asked Yang, following her dad.

I pulled the hood of my cloak off my head. Honestly, I had forgotten it was even _on_ considering I had made a habit of being hooded. Now my head felt oddly light. Doing the polite thing, I took off my cloak and hung it on the clothe rack by the door. I took my weapons off my belt and wrapped them in the cloak.

I'm pretty certain bringing deadly weapons into someone's house is _not_ proper etiquette.

I already want my cloak back on me...I'm developing a problem aren't I?

I walked towards the opening to the other room. I had a feeling it was a kitchen. That would make the most sense afterall.

"Hey! You want a drink? We have lemonade, apple juice, coconut juice, orange juice, bee-uh..not beer, don't choose beer, smoothies, Yang, why do we have smoothies?, bubble tea-"

That was way too much drinks. Who in their right minds keep that many drinks in their house?!

...though I wouldn't know considering I never exactly _lived_ in one, not long enough to remember well, at least.

I entered the kitchen. Huh, my guess was on the spot.

Taiyang was at the cooler. Yang had sat herself in one of the chairs around the dining table. In her (normal) hand was a pink smoothie.

"I think I'll just take water," I said, sweat dropping.

Taiyang grabbed a bottle. He turned. "Right, one water coming-"

The water bottle slipped out of his hand. It landed on the floor with an audible thump.

"Eh? What's up with you, Dad?" Yang looked at Taiyang and then at me. "Oh...wow."

There was a few seconds of awkward staring.

Taiyang coughed. He quickly grabbed the water bottle off the floor. "Y-yeah, sorry about that."

I'm pretty sure I'm the cause of this in some way. "N-no, I'm s-sorry!"

"This is just freakish," muttered Yang. She took a deliberate drink out of her smoothie.

"Uh…"

As if to save the day, a corgi appeared at the doorway. It tilted its head, then jumped at me. Its tail was wagging the whole time.

I did not do dogs.

I had wanted to, but I never got the chance.

I held onto the dog by the collar. I'm pretty sure that's _not_ how you do things.

I decided it'd be safer to set the dog down.

Wait.

"...isn't this the dog that was sent over the mail?"

"Huh? How'd you know that?" asked Yang.

Right, still didn't know I was me.

"Uh...Weiss told me?"

I wanted to slap myself. That would only bring up more questions! I could've just said 'hey, I'm your dead friend Pyrrha!' and it would've been better!

I absentmindedly scratched the dog's chin. People did that, right? Well, the dog seems to like it.

Yes, Weiss _had_ told me about a corgi that was sent over the mail. Apparently it was the most adorable thing in existence. Then the heiress had ranted for thirty minutes about how dogs shouldn't be put in the mail, dogs shouldn't be sent on huntsmen missions, and dogs shouldn't be projectiles.

...wait, what?! The dog was _real?!_

Team RWBY certainly was...unusual.

"Wait, Weiss told you? You know Weiss?" Yang frowned, her brain clearly trying to come up with a logical answer. "But she's like...friendless except for us and Team JNPR or uh...JN_R."

"That's not nice," I said on reflex. I furrowed my brows. "And I prefer Team JNPR, thank you."

JN_R was _not_ a color. I understand if Ruby was included to make JNRR but Yang clearly did not mean JNRR. As such, I am of the stance it must be _JNPR._

"O-oh, I guess you two haven't been introduced yet, my bad." Taiyang still looked shaken up. Even more so then when he had stumbled across us in the forest.

"Yang, meet Pyrrha. Pyrrha, Yang."

" _Pyrrha?!"_ Yang spewed out her smoothie.

"She says she's Pyrrha Nikos," said Taiyang with a tight shrug.

Yang looked at him incredulously.

I coughed. "I'm uh...right here."

" _Pyrrha?!"_

I winced. "Please, Yang."

"B-but you don't _look_ like Pyrrha."

"I am acutely aware."

"You _talk_ like Pyrrha though."

"I uh...thank you?" Should that be taken as a compliment? I'll take it as a compliment.

"Alright, wait, freeze." Yang held up her robot hand. She rubbed her temple with her other hand. "Weiss told me you were dead."

A ball settled in my stomach. "Y-yeah."

"Okay, when things like this happen, you have to prove it's actually you." Yang tilted her head. "That's what they always do in books and movies anyways."

I paused. " _Books?"_

"I've had a lot of free time," said Yang indignantly.

That...would make sense.

I racked my brain for something that Yang and perhaps only only a few other people would know.

The dance?

"Uh...Jaune changed into a dress at the dance."

Yang snorted. "That was _hilarious._ Team JNPR really hit it out of the park with those moves."

I shivered. "Oh gods, you don't want to know how hard it was to get that coordinated."

Jaune said he would never forgive Ren. I had agreed with him in my head.

"Alright, we're getting warmer here. A lot of people saw the dance though."

I hoped no one taped it.

"Heck, Professor Oobleck even taped it."

Well, that was out the window.

Alright, I had a chance. I need something else…

"The initiation," I said. "I uh...ran out of the woods with a Deathstalker on my trail...and then I was running in circles...You yelled something...I think Weiss fell out of the sky? The Deathstalker hit me and I landed at everyone's feet."

I must admit, not one of my proudest moments.

"Wow...that feels like forever ago."

The corgi kicked my hand.

"...yeah. Yeah, it does." It was scary how much could change in less than a year. Or I suppose it _has_ been an year now.

"So...care to tell me how you're back from the dead and looking like that?"

"I don't know...it just happened."

"Hm..what's it like being dead?"

I flinched.

Yang held up her hands. "Sorry! Too soon!"

I think it will _always_ be too soon.

I pushed away the thoughts of _that_ place and stood up. Taiyang handed me a new water bottle, not the one dropped onto the floor by shocked hands.

I uncapped the lid and took a long sip.

I needed that.

"Sun's going up, ladies. We should probably eat lunch soon."

"Hamburgers?" asked Yang.

"Hamburgers are not healthy," I immediately said.

"Who cares?"

"All the dieters in the world."

A month ago, I wouldn't have dared countered an argument like that. A month ago, I had not met Neo and my brain was not poisoned with sarcasm and attitude.

She was quite frankly a horrible influence.

Taiyang scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, there hasn't been healthy food here since...since, wow, an year ago maybe?"

That was seriously worrying. I stared at him.

"Anyways! Why don't you bring your friend, what was her name, Neo? here so we can all eat?"

"...Neo?" asked Yang slowly. "Did you just say Neo?"

"Yang? What's wrong?" asked Taiyang.

Yang burst out of the kitchen. She dashed across the living room and slammed open the door. She was gone in a flash.

"W-what just happened?" I stammered.

The sound of clashing metal suddenly came from outside.

Taiyang exchanged a look with me.

We ran out to see what on Remnant was going on.

* * *

For once, I'd like to be in the know. Really. I had more control in Mistral than I ever did in Vale. Vale changed my life...or I suppose it _ended_ it,but that wasn't the point. The second I was on Vale, it was like a clean slate.

I didn't know anything. I thought it was a blessing.

Then things happened. One could say I knew _more_ than any one of my peers, considering, well, Ozpin's offer but that only lead to more questions than answers. And of course, Team RWBY seemed to be constantly disappearing and coming back with out of this world stories to tell.

Taiyang and I found Yang locked in combat with Neo in the front yard.

...what is happening?!

Neo's illusion had been turned off. I presume do to the stress of combat. She blocked Yang's punch with her umbrella, looking incredibly annoyed.

I was stuck with the realization that Neo was probably way out of my league, even with four Mistral Tournament medals under my belt.

...those medals never meant anything anyways.

Taiyang took the initiative. He stepped in between the two girls as they slid back.

"Okay! What the hell is going on?!" He glared at Yang, who was heaving. "Yang, we don't attack guests."

"She tried to kill me!" Yang pointed an accusatory finger at Neo.

Neo held up her scroll. ' _ONCE.'_

I gaped. " _What?"_

Taiyang frowned. "What?"

"Look, it's not important! She works for _Cinder."_

My head turned light. I staggered. An image of a woman with ashened black hair that I had pushed back sprung into the forefront of my mind.

I had to lean on the house for support. My breaths were suddenly loud to my own ears and quick.

My vision swirled. Why did my head hurt so much?

Amber. Ashes. Fire.

No! No, no-

"Pyrrha?" asked a voice. I couldn't place it. No, I probably could, it was just too taxing at the moment. The voice turned accusatory. "What did you do?!"

" _Do you believe in destiny?"_

" _ **Yes."**_

I drew in a strangled breath. My chest suddenly burst in pain. Like before. Like-

A hand landed on my shoulder.

"I think she's having a panic attack."

"What? Wait, what does her being afraid of fire has to do with anything?!"

"And I don't care you don't work for Cinder anymore! That doesn't excuse everything you did!"

What in the world was going on? My heart thumped loudly. My vision was still swirling.

Don't talk about _her_!

"Girls! Please stop arguing! I'm bringing her upstairs. In the meantime, don't rip each other to shreds! We can talk _later."_

"But Dad-"

"In the living room. _Now._ You too, Neo."

I don't know exactly when, but in between someone lifting me and walking me to _somewhere,_ I fell out of consciousness.

* * *

 _I looked down at my hands. I turned them around carefully._

 _Light filtered through into the building I was standing in._

 _Speaking of which, where was I anyways?_

 _I looked up. It was a room. Picture perfect. A bedroom with a king sized bed, blankets neatly folded. The light filtering in was oddly warm. This would be the perfect place for a married couple, huh?_

 _I shouldn't intrude._

 _I turned around to walk outside._

 _Huh?_

 _Standing in front of me was a body-sized mirror._

 _It seemed to lure me in. I walked up to it._

 _A white-cloaked figure stared back at me. No, I couldn't see their eyes. So maybe they weren't staring._

 _For some reason I knew she was staring._

 _She?_

' _She' was in a field filled with swaying grass and flowers. The sun was setting behind her._

 _Suddenly, the cloaked-figure's head rised._

 _Silver eyes glowed at me._

 _The figure burst into white rose petals. I stepped back in shock._

 _The room suddenly turned dark, no, dark would've been preferable. It was dark with a menacing purple hue. Ready to swallow up anyone in the vicinity. Like me._

 _Shivers went up my spine. I turned, ready to make a run._

 _There was another mirror._

 _This one made me want to scramble away from it. Sprint away from it._

 _Every part of me screamed danger._

 _The mirror's inside suddenly warped. A deathly pale figure emerged from the spiraling glass._

 _She was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen._

 _Red veins protrude out of her skin that could not possibly be human. There was no white in her eyes. It was black. The pupils glowed menacingly red._

 _I wanted to scream. I couldn't. It was like the woman's presence caused every part of me to cease up, to stop functioning._

 _She cackled. It was hollow and scratchy._

" _THe EnD Is hErE!"_

 _A part of me took control. The lesser part of me. The part of me that was still a little girl running on instinct to survive. So I ran. As fast as I could._

 _I burst out of the room. I sprinted to the stairs._

 _And what awaited me there?_

 _Another mirror._

 _This one shuttered like a hologram before steadying into a frame._

 _My breath hitched._

 _It was me._

 _But it wasn't. It was me from_ before. _I remember that._

 _Scraggly twelve year old me. She walked, head down, on the streets. She bumped into a pedestrian. The pedestrian pushed her away. She didn't resist._

 _After all, she had bumped into him on purpose._

 _Oh gods. I reached out a hand._

 _I needed to tell her-tell her what would happen. You need to-_

 _The image burst into flames._

 _I pulled away and fell onto the floor._

 _Out of the flames appeared_ that _woman._

 _Her amber eyes glowed. Her mouth formed into a smirk. She held out a hand. It burst into flames._

 _I scrambled back. I looked around for an escape, any escape at all._

 _Everything was on fire._ The house was on fire. _I watched a picture slowly turned to ashes._

 _A hand reached out and grabbed my chin. It turned my head until I was looking into_ her _eyes._

 _The sides of her eyes burst into flames._

 _I screamed. "NO!"_

* * *

"NO!" I fell out of a bed and landed with a thump.

I turned onto my back and just laid there.

I struggled to get my breathing under control. That was when I realized I was sweating. Drenched in sweat, actually.

With much persistence, I sat up. I laid a hand on my head.

I took in a breath. "Pyrrha, you need to get this under control...I can't stay like this…"

I was a detriment to anyone near me at the moment. Useless. A person who faints at the sight of fire and the sounds of certain words was... _clearly insane_ for one. And weak for another.

I convinced myself to stand up. That mail corgi barked from a chair it had set itself in.

We were in a room. A plain one at that. Just a bed, a bedside table, and a closet.

A guest room then.

It still shared sickening resemblance to that room from the nightmare.

What was that anyways?

Just a dream, that's what, Pyrrha.

I opened the door. The corgi jumped out of his chair and bounced up to my heels. ...I should ask for his name, wasn't it Ein or something of that nature?

I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me. I walked to where I assume the stairs would be. Down the halls, to be precise.

It was already dark. How long had I been out?

This was becoming a pattern.

'Oh look, Pyrrha hasn't fainted for _at least_ three days! We need to get on that!'

...it would seem my mental state is failing as well.

In my musing, I hadn't realized I had brought myself to the stairs.

And in my realization, I promptly slammed into the wall behind me in shock.

Impossible. Preposterous. _No way._

These stairs…

No. Haha, you're just remembering wrong, Pyrrha. _Just remembering wrong._

Yeah, that's right.

Just stairs.

Even so, I practically ran down the stairs.

The kitchen light was on.

So evidently, I walked in.

Taiyang, Yang, and Neo were sitting at the dining table. Yang had her arms crossed. Her feet were planted firmly on the table. Taiyang sipped a bowl of soup. His eyes darted towards Yang's feet every few second, obviously annoyed by it. At the exact opposite end of the table from Yang was...Neo. Her umbrella was folded and set at the leg of her chair. Her back was to me, but I hadn't spent a month with just her not learning to read her body language. Her shoulders were tensed just slightly, she was uncomfortable.

I don't know what to do with her right now. I pushed Neo to the end of my worry list.

"Uh...my apologies for my...fainting," I decided to say before anything.

Afterall, I was the inconvenience here.

Taiyang jumped a little. "Pyrrha! No, it's fine. Everyone has their happy little accidents."

Sure, not everyone was a pyrophobic and living when they were supposed to be dead however.

"Take a seat," Taiyang motioned at the table. Then he realized there was no more seats left. He stood up.

"No, it's okay!" I said. I quickly grabbed a chair from the corner and set it at the last remaining side of the table. As in between Yang and Neo and across from Taiyang.

I purposely avoided looking at Neo when I took a seat.

Taiyang slid back down into his chair. He swirled his soup distractedly. "So...got any plans for the future?"

"Oh, haha, that's right." So much had happened, I almost forgot. I shouldn't have. "I need to find my Team."

"Team...what was it again?"

"JNPR," supplied Yang.

"JNPR."

I nodded. "Yes. That's actually why I came. I thought...since Ruby was with the Team, you would know where they were."

Taiyang shifted uncomfortably. "Well…"

Yang leaned forward with a frown. "Wait. How did you know that?"

' _I told her.'_ Neo stepped into the conversation...no, she stomped in.

Yang narrowed her eyes. "So you were spying."

' _Call it reconnaissance.'_

"I thought you said you weren't working for...her anymore." Yang glanced at me.

What was that about. I knew what that was about. I felt my face heat up.

' _I_ don't. _It was personal.'_

"Personal?"

' _You don't need to know, Xiao-Long.'_ Neo glared at Yang.

Both of their auras flared. Clearly they weren't a match, at all.

"Girls! Not again!" Then Taiyang leaned over and whispered into my ear. "This happened every few minutes...it was total torture."

I couldn't help but snort.

"Back on topic!" directed Taiyang. He looked at me. "You want to find your Team?"

I looked down at the table. "...they think I'm dead."

"We know they were heading for Mistral," Yang cut in. "...that's about it."

"Mistral?!" I couldn't help myself. Of all the places on Remnant, _Mistral?_

Hometown, huh?

But that could give me the edge I need. I knew Mistral. Inside and out. ...not to mention the contacts…

"Yeah, far away, huh?" said Taiyang.

Yang frowned. "I'm going too. I need to find Ruby anyways."

"You still haven't beat me."

"But Dad! Ruby-"

"Nope. You need t-"

" _Dad-"_

"I was about to say you need to listen to what I'm about to say about your mother!"

I blinked. _What?_

Neo stared at father and daughter.

I...understood her confusion. Wasn't Yang's mother...buried under that gravestone?

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter_

I am beginning to detest my brain.

"O-oh," stammered a dumbfounded Yang. "Yeah...uh, what about her?"

"Her semblance will help you find Ruby...well, it will help you find her a lot easier anyways."

As a person who has been on the other side of living, I'm quite certain that the not-living can _not_ use their semblance.

' _Wait. Stop. Dead people can't use their semblances,'_ wrote Neo painfully bluntly.

I cringed.

Yang blinked. Then she smirked. "What, you don't know? Ruby and I are _half-_ sisters."

Neo frowned. She looked at Taiyang. ' _I didn't take you for a player.'_

Taiyang choked. "I'm not! It's complicated, alright?!"

' _So whose mystery mom?'_

Anyone could see Neo was scrounging for information. Even Yang and definitely Taiyang would recognize and not answer such a alternatively motivated questi-

"Raven Branwen," said Yang.

Both of Neo's eyes went white. Her scroll slid out of her hand. Her mouth dropped open.

Wait-did she just say-"RAVEN BRANWEN?!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Sorry if this chapter is kinda on the low key side...I had to get a garbage truck load of exposition done...it'll bounce back in a couple of chapters though, don't worry!**

 **My main concern is characterizing Pyrrha though. In first-person, you get a lot of her thoughts and well...I still don't think she comes off as a traumatized version of Canon!Pyrrha _that well._**

 **And also, I have set a new goal for all of my stories! Get one of them onto the fanfic recs on TVTropes baby! That would be _so cooooool!_**

 **As always, Beta is bro.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Lena 'Slipstream' Oxton: Because I like to torture people. :)**

 **TheSetupMage: Aww, thank you so much! And don't worry, I'll always make sure to respond to the reviews and PMs whether it's one or twenty cuz the community's what's important! (And a good story too... I guess)**

 **ChimaTigon: Through the power of stupid memories...and I guess Pyrrha could have showed off her semblance but eh.**

 **merendinoemilliano: Yup, Taiyang was just trying to ignore Pyrrha's new face as much as possible...which wasn't too hard to do until the cloak was off. And Pyrrha looks about seventeen...that's a plot line...everything's a plot line!**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: ...your name killed me. Hope I didn't disappoint!**

 **TJMike: it'd be really wierd if Taiyang _didn't_ feel awkward, lol. And boy, Pyrrha and Neo really have to sit down and talk now.**

 **Lightblade23: Thanks!**

 **Clementine Davidson: yessss!**

 **grifman275: Arghhh! Are you trying to make me spoil my own story!? Lol, anyway, you'll see...you'll see...(laughs evily in a corner)**

 **Nerd315: now I want to see some other fanfics with Pyrrha's past hm...and you're right, it _is_ kinda hypocritical, but hey, no one's perfect. P.S Pyrrha only lied to get into Sanctum, not her rep...just to clear things up (I know I wrote that kinda messily, my bad)**

 **Engineer1869: Yup...and I really have to get on with helping Pyrrha with her PTSD, she's like fainting every other chapter now and that's kinda sad...**

* * *

 **Always look forward to Critisicm and Suggestions!**

 **Please Review, Favorite, and Follow if deserved!**


	9. Chp VIII: Fathom (RE-reuploaded)

**Chp VIII: Fathom**

 **Disclaimer: Does not own RWBY, I luv RT! You guys r amazing!**

 **"/No more crying/It's time for me to soar/" ~ 'Armed and Ready' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

There is a time and a place to find out about things.

I frankly don't know when would be the best time and where would be the best place to find out one of your friend's mom is the most infamous person in the Mistral underworld.

I am quite certain the kitchen of said friend and right after reuniting after some unfortunate events was _not_ the time and place.

Raven Branwen...she was a frightening woman. Leader of the notorious Branwen Tribe.

I met her a few times...once face to face in a conversation.

She scared me to the core.

The Grimm mask didn't help.

"R-raven Branwen?" I repeated.

Yang frowned. "You two looked like you've seen a gho…" she looked at me. "Okay, not the best analogy, something really scary."

" _The_ Raven Branwen." Maybe there's a chance that someone out in the world happened to share the same exact name.

Neo picked her scroll off the floor shakily. Her eyes were still completely white.

Taiyang furrowed his brows. "That's right...you're from Mistral."

"That I am."

"Then do you know about the Branwen Tribe?"

So much for my theory.

"...the same Raven, I assume?"

"Yeah."

' _That explains a lot.'_ Neo slammed her face onto the table.

"Oh yeah…" Yang closed an eye. "Didn't she appear in the tunnels?"

' _She tried to kill me! Now I know why! You have a scary mom!'_

"You were trying to kill me!"

' _That was different!'_

"That's utter bullshit and you know it!"

Taiyang rubbed his temple. "Girls! Fighting again!"

Neo and Yang quotes down (or at least Yang did). They glared at each other.

I feel bad for anyone who would have to travel with the two at the same time.

Wait-that would be _me._...oh gods.

"So…" I said. "Raven Branwen? I uh...wasn't aware she had a family."

She seemed like someone that would hate the notion of one. From the little I had seen of her anyways.

"It's complicated," said Taiyang.

"Oh."

I had long since picked up the social que of what 'it's complicated' meant.

' _Her semblance is making portals,'_ typed Neo with a shiver. ' _Scary.'_

"Not quite," said Taiyang, leaning forward. My, Neo, and Yang's ears were primed to listen to what he had to say.

Raven Branwen's semblance. That information would be invaluable.

Pyrrha! That doesn't matter!

"She makes portals, sure," said Taiyang. "But she can only make portals to people she's bonded to."

' _Okay, less scary,'_ Neo felt the need to comment. ' _Kind of cute, actually.'_

I choked.

Taiyang ignored us. "Right now, I know she has one for me, one for Yang...and one for Qrow."

I blinked. _Qrow._

That name sounded familiar. Oh. The man that didn't seem to like me very much when I was chosen to be the next Fall Maiden.

Not the _best_ impression.

"And Uncle Qrow said he'd be looking out for Ruby!" Yang's tone grew excited.

 _Uncle_ Qrow? ...resemblance not seen.

"Exactly," said Taiyang.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Yang whipped her head to me. "Let's go!"

"Uh…"

Don't get me wrong, I was _very_ excited to _really_ get started on this journey to my Team, but it was the middle of the night. And frankly, Neo, the forest, and Grimm have taught me it isn't the _best_ time to be traveling.

"You're not going anywhere today, young lady," said Taiyang. "Pyrrha and Neo need some rest, _you_ need the rest, and, also, in case you haven't noticed, it's the middle of the night."

"Like that's stopped me before," muttered Yang. "Besides, Pyrrha's gotten plenty of rest."

I...couldn't really argue with that. In fact, I felt quite energetic at the moment.

...and I didn't want to drift out of consciousness.

I didn't want to experience the nightmares again.

"Well Neo hasn't."

"Yeah but Neo's…" Yang looked at the multicolored girl. " _Neo."_

Neo mocked a huff indignantly.

" _Yang."_

"...fine, fine."

Taiyang sighed. He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, you two. We only have one guest room."

If it was the day before, I would've been fine. I've been sleeping in close proximity with Neo for nearly a month now. And even before then, I _did_ share a co-ed room...and well, not a lot of people can beat Nora in terms of room disturbance.

I slept with my head under a pillow for _weeks._

I felt a little pang in my chest. ...don't worry, I'll get to see them in no time…

But anyhow, right now, I wasn't so sure with Neo. Scratch that, I definitely did not want to be in a room with just her.

She worked, and emphasize on _worked_ , for _her._ And she hadn't told me.

The logical part of my mind noted that it was probably for good reason.

The emotional part felt very betrayed. ...not to mention _she_ had essentially done something similar.

I forced a smile. It probably turned out weak.

"That's fine."

* * *

The guest room was the same room I had been carried to after my unfortunate accident. As expected, of course.

There is also the problem that there was only one bed.

It was quickly solved by Neo plopping herself onto the floor.

I suppose that was her small way of apologizing to me.

No matter, I suppose I'd...take it.

I sat on the bed. Its cover was still a complete mess seeing as I hadn't bothered to fold it before going downstairs.

It really was bothering me.

I tried resisting my perfectionist ways by petting the corgi that seemed insistent to follow me wherever I went.

What was with this dog?

He panted and tilted his head. I noticed a gleaming name tag on his collar for the first time.

I mentally banged my head against a nonexistent wall for not noticing sooner.

I took it in my hand. "Zwei, huh?"

Zwei's tail wagged at his name.

It was cute.

I can see why Weiss fell for the dog. ...or maybe she was just really into dogs?

I wonder where she was right now. Or Blake for that matter.

Why _had_ Team RWBY disbanded? Yang, I understand why she would be at home, but then why wasn't Blake and Weiss with her? Or maybe with Ruby?

...it wasn't my business, I shouldn't intrude.

And more importantly, I wonder how _my_ team was doing. Are they moving on? Or did I destroy them with my passing? Were they happy? Or are they downcast because of my fate.

In the end it was all _my_ fault. _I_ was the one who-

"Arf!" Zwei escaped from my hand.

I blinked. ...I hadn't realized I was gripping onto the poor dog's head too hard.

Zwei ran to Neo...who had stolen a pillow from my bed and was resting her head against it.

I blinked again. When had that happen?

Did I _zone out?_

That was more unsettling than I want to admit.

Neo stroked Zwei's back.

It was ridiculous how much of a child she looked when I had learned she was anything but.

Speaking of which, I should talk to her. That was the _right_ thing to do.

But I didn't want to. I was... _angry,_ alright, maybe not that harsh... _upset_ with Neo. And I was nervous about what I might learn.

Let's just face it, I was too weak.

Neo frowned. Her multi-colored eyes caught mine.

Oh. I was staring.

"U-uh...sorry," I said dumbly. I flopped onto the bed.

...Neo would be pretty cold without a blanket, right?

Sometimes I dislike being the nice one.

I have been told again and again it's quite the problem. Not directly, but Nora's 'advice' before the dance certainly spoke volumes.

Good times.

I grabbed a random sheet and heaved myself back up.

"Neo."

She stiffened. Zero was now snuggling into her. Neo looked at me and then the blanket I was holding. She relaxed.

I tossed it to her.

She nodded in what I will translate to 'thanks'.

Then the room went awkward again. The tension could be cut with a giant broadsword.

Zwei remained happily oblivious, which somehow made the whole situation even worse.

"We...uh…"

' _We need to talk.'_

Sometimes Neo's bluntness made things better. In _rare_ cases.

"Yeah." I crossed my legs. My hands suddenly felt restless so I grabbed my one remaining pillow.

Juvenile, I know, but I didn't have a weapon to fiddle with or a dog to pet.

I envy Neo.

And I envy Zwei, who looked like he was getting the time of his life.

He rolled onto his back, letting Neo pet his stomach with one hand while she wrote on her scroll with the other.

' _I don't work with her anymore.'_

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. I forced the sudden explosion of nerves to stop. "I know."

' _I never wanted to work with her anyways.'_

I didn't know what to say to that. What was I supposed to say? That's sad?

The fact was, Neo still _helped_ them. She still helped in making Beacon fall. And in hindsight, her semblance may not have been the one that got Yang disqualified and...and _Penny_ destroyed, but there was no doubt it'd still be very useful for such an operation.

Wait-...I made a simple connection.

"The final member of Team CMSN…"

I never knew much about _that_ team before their, well, _reveal._ But C-but _M_ and _S_ were easy to identify. Emerald was 'friends' with Team RWBY and consequently had interactions with JNPR. Her partner, Mercury, made headlines, but N seemed to have disappeared after the Team Rounds.

Neo frowned. ' _Yeah.'_

I hugged my pillow closer. _Neo_ had been more than just an assistance, she was an _active_ part of the Fall.

I felt queasy.

"Then… why did you cut ties?"

I don't know how to feel about it, but I do trust Neo. She's had my back for nearly a month and definitely saved my life at least once. She had plenty of chances to stab me in the back and leave me to die...for a second time.

I was having trouble placing Neo with the ruthless people responsible for the Fall.

Neo glowered. ' _We were supposed to be safe from the Grimm.'_

I blinked. "Wha-"

' _This wasn't supposed to happen!'_

"Neo-"

' _If he hadn't taken the goddamn deal, none of this had to happen!'_

Neo's eyes had turned pure white again. She chucked her scroll across the room. It landed on the floor with a clack.

Zwei jumped at the sudden motion. I was pretty sure I had too.

"Uh...are you okay?" That was a stupid question. Of course she _wasn't_ okay.

Neo fell face first into her pillow. She raised a hand to signal she was done for the night.

There was a knock on the door. "Are you girls alright?" called Taiyang.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"...okay then." The sound of steps disappeared after a few seconds.

I got up and turned off the lights, rendering the room dark, the only light from the broken moon and tiny stars.

I went to the window. There really was a nice view of the night sky from here.

It seems like everyone has their own burden to carry, huh?

* * *

I woke up to the sound of metal shrilly clattering to the floor.

I fell out of the bed.

It was a small bed.

Neo was already standing.

Zwei seemed to have been woken by my falling instead of the sound of metal.

I pulled myself up. "Ugh...what was that?"

Neo shrugged. She pulled her umbrella from her sleeve.

I blinked. "What-"

She put a finger to my mouth in a 'don't ask' motion.

"Right…" I stumbled to the door, not quite awake yet. "I'll see what happened. Just...stay here."

Neo stared at me.

"I don't think the Xiao Longs need to see an armed individual walking around their house." I looked at her. "You shouldn't even be armed in the _first place."_

Neo gave me an unimpressed shrug.

I stepped out of the room. I'll deal with my weaponized umbrella loving partner later...partner?

I shook my head and hurried down the stairs, where the noise seemed to have come from. I rubbed my eyes. Huh, no nightmares yesterday night...a blessing to be sure.

It may have something to do with the fact that I got only a few hours of sleep though.

...I spent most of the night looking at stars.

My steps faltered when I reached the first floor.

Taiyang was staring at my weapons...in his hands.

He heard me and looked up.

"Pyrrha," his voice was trembling. " _Where did you get this weapon?"_

I had almost forgotten that White Rose was _not_ in fact my weapon. I had taken it from the Beacon armory.

Taiyang was looking at me with haunted eyes. My stomach sank.

Did he know who this weapon belonged to in the past?

And if so, what happened to them?

* * *

Taiyang took in a shaky breath. He crossed his arms and leaned on the kitchen counter.

"So let me get this right, you found this-this ' _White Rose'_ in the Beacon Armory?"

I nodded an affirmative nervously. White Rose laid on the table. It had been reassembled into its lance form by me.

Neo had decided to take a morning walk, the traitor, and Yang was sitting on the counter, dangling her legs.

"And it was just _sitting there?"_ Taiyang looked ready to murder someone...or from what I can see in his eyes, a specific someone. I feel bad for them, this man does not seem like a good person to have as an enemy.

He _did_ manage to become romantically involved with _Raven Branwen_ of all people after all.

"Well…" I said. "It was hidden behind a few cardboard boxes?"

"It was hidden behind a few cardboard boxes?!" repeated Taiyang incredulously. He muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like a name.

He pinched his nose. "Alright. Please tell me there was _at least_ a case."

"Yeah," I recalled. "Three padlocks too."

Taiyang blinked. "Padlocks? How would you get into _padlocks?_ What are you, a master thief?"

"Oh," said Yang. "Pyrrha's semblance is polarity. She does things with metal."

I nodded. "Yes. That was how I was able to get in."

"That's better, I guess," said Taiyang. He looked at White Rose and it seems as if the world around him disappeared for a second. "...yeah."

"I uh...I suppose I could return it," I said, eyes downcast. "I mean, you seem to know who owns it."

"I-" Taiyang stopped what he was about to say.

"...she would like it that way," he murmured.

"Excuse me?"

Taiyang looked at me. "...take good care of it. It means a lot to a lot of people."

I don't know why, but I felt ecstatic by his approval. "Yes sir!"

"...maybe it was meant to be."

"Huh?" I think I heard him wrong there.

"Nothing."

Taiyang poked Yang in the arm. "Come on, Sunny Little Dragon. One last training session with dad."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Can't we go now?"

"It's like six in the morning, we have some time."

"Fine, fine. _Then_ we're off."

Taiyang grinned. "That's the plan."

I'm sure I saw a bit of melancholy in that grinn.

* * *

I watched as Yang and Taiyang circled each other, both brawlers in a readied pose. I leaned on a tree, not really knowing what else to do.

Even _Zwei_ found a way to be more productive than me. Namely, dutifully sitting guard at the stool of towels. No animals were getting pass him.

Smart dog.

Yang threw the first punch, going all in. Taiyang blocked it with a hand. He kicked at her feet. She slid backwards. Yang ran forward. This time, her robot arm was primed for a punch. Taiyang stepped to the side and grabbed it. He pushed the arm down, trying to slam it into the flood. Yang grunted, then-

Something tapped my shoulder. I quickly turned, heart hammering

It was Neo, just Neo. She threw me something...a granola bar? I stared at her.

She held up a bag filled with granola bars.

I-okay, granola bars are known for being great, though inferior ration replacements...they tast a lot better anyways.

I unwrapped my chocolate flavored one and took a bite.

I enjoyed it.

A thump signified that someone had fallen.

It was Yang. She groaned and layed on the floor.

"You're still off balance," Taiyang said to her.

"Whaat?!"

Neo tapped my shoulder again. I looked at her. She placed down her bag. Then she practically forced a tiny metal device onto me.

I blinked. I looked down at the device-

Or I would say I looked down, but I never got the chance. Neo kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying into a tree on the other side of the field.

"Girls, what-" Taiyang had to stop his lecture.

 _'Just practicing.'_

"Right."

 _'Carry on with your lives.'_

What in the world?! I pealed myself off the tree. I grabbed at my weapons. Lol and behold, they weren't there, still in the house.

Neo was charging to clash with me. I slid to the side and punched. It hit her, sure, except she shattered to glass.

Oh dear. I quickly swallowed my granola bar.

It was a bad idea. I was hit in the back and sent stumbling into the open field. Neo appeared in front of me. She grinned.

I clenched my hand around the metal object Neo had given me.

Fine, I can work this out with one hand.

Neo did a handstand. She lurched her body at me, feet first.

I weaved to the side. I grabbed Neo's foot and pulled at it.

Her eyes widened. She was suddenly completely out of balance and falling. I released my hold on Neo's foot and caught her by the arm.

She did not look happy. Neo slid herself out of my grip and strided forward, elbowing me in the guts.

I took in a deep breath. Ow, that hurt.

Neo was not one for taking breaks. She quickly brought her foot up to my stomach and kicked...again. I stumbled backwards.

Pyrrha! You're _supposed_ to be the four time Mistral Capion, act like it!

I charged foward.

Neo awaited me with a smirk.

I slid to the floor.

Neo frowned. Then her eyes widened.

Using the momentum of my sliding to the floor, I let my feet aim right at Neo's feet. They collided and sent Neo tumbling foward.

Oh wait.

Neo crash landed on top of me.

I groaned. Clearly I do not listen to the 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction' law.

Neo quickly got off...making sure to step on me a few times to show what she thought of my move.

Well, at least I won.

I opened up my hand holding the object she had given me. I froze.

No way.

No.

No, no.

I dropped the object. The _lighter. ..._ like it was on fire and it may as well be for me.

A cold sweat broke out. I was _this_ close to that thing. I scooted away from it. Now I was just shivering uncontrollably.

Neo picked up the lighter and pocketed it. She gave me an unimpressed look.

"N-not there yet," I mumbled. "D-don't do that again."

I must have looked pathetic.

Yang ran over to me. "Pyrrha? What happened?"

"Nothing..."

"Something." She glared at Neo.

 _'Just helping her.'_

" _How?"_

Taiyang walked over. "You okay, Pyrrha?"

"I'm fine..." I muttered, composing myself. I staggered to my feet. "Just fine."

I looked at Yang. "Are we ready to go?"

"Father teaches me important life lesson? Check. Yeah, we're ready to go." Yang grinned and gave me a thumbs up with her newly painted yellow robot thumb.

* * *

"...I think we have a problem," said Yang.

 _'No shit, Sherlock.'_

"Shut up."

 _'I'm mute.'_

"You infuriating-!"

"Please! Back on topic!" I pleaded. I looked at Yang's prized possession, her motorcycle Bumblebee.

"Hmph." Yang crossed her arms. "Yeah, Bumblebee isn't fitting three people."

She looked at Neo from the side of her eye. "...or we could just ditch one..."

 _'I will murder you in your sleep.'_ Neo pulled a keychain out of nowhere. She grinned. _'But since I'm so smart, I have a solution. We're borrowing your dad's motorcycle.'_

Borrowing as in steal.

Yang gaped. "When. What?"

Neo slid past her. _'Let's go.'_

She stopped at the sleak grey and dark yellow motorcycle parked on the other side of the shed.

"Dude. Just _no."_

' _Got any better ideas, dragon?'_

"...no."

Neo smiled and twirled her newly acquired keychain.

 _'Let's get moving then'._

Finally, finally we were getting somewhere.

Ha, Team JNRR is only a continent away.

And I'm going home.

* * *

The leaves rustled. Some fell off and flew with the wind. They scattered like ash through ought the world.

Taiyang Xiao Long stood at the head of the gravestone.

He dropped to his knees.

"Shit Summer..." Drops of tears appeared on the gravestone's face. " _Why?"_

"You were always so selfless but in the end, it feels like-"

His voice hitched.

"Like you're the most selfish person in the world..."

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Damn it's really late and I wanna sleep!**

 **Edit: It looks like there were some...errors, so I'm reuploading this!**

 **Also...I just thought its depressing that Pyrrha, Neo, and Yang make _PNY._**

 **Beta is bro**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **grifman275: They didn't notice Summer's weapon...and I don't think Yang would react that much. I doubt Summer was swinging around her weapon near kids, lol. And thanks for the PTSD ideas! They really helped!**

 **guest: I see, you're that kinda person.**

 **meeyaaargh3412: Lol, that analogy!**

 **Jus Drein Jus Daun-Clexa: lol...yup.**

 **Clementine Davidson: thanks! Will try to keep up quality!**

 **Nerd315: mwahaha...a little bit of both?**

 **merendinoemilliano: hm...Taiyang's cooking skills are to be a mystery forever (and for the better). And for your fanfic review problem, that's really weird o_0.**

 **TJMike: Alright, now I know Pyrrha is _at least_ more believable in this fics than most others, that's good! Thanks for supporting, TJ.**

 **Skittertale: Mwahahaha!**

 **Anime Nightwing39: Wow, thanks. Hope I don't disappoint =).**

* * *

 **Constructive Criticism! Suggestions!**

 **Reviews! Favorites! Follows!**


	10. Chp IX: Ocean

**Chp IX: Ocean**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine! And RT is definitely not mine!**

 **"/I don't know the answers/Tommorow's still unknown/" ~ 'Home' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"So what's the plan?!" I called to Yang from my seat on Neo's 'borrowed' motorcycle.

It was ludicrous really. Neo and Yang had decided on a impromptu race without even saying anything. The only reason why we haven't been pulled over is because of how underpopulated Patch was.

That and the police probably couldn't have caught us anyways.

The wind blew in my face, prompting my hair to scatter all over. I couldn't even tie it in a ponytail because a. we were going _way_ too fast and b. this hair was too short.

I missed my long, flowing hair. Even if it could be a pain sometimes.

I managed.

Neo suddenly gunned the engines and I had to tighten my hold on her if I wanted to avoid flying off the motorcycle.

We shot past Yang, whose eyes turned red. She quickly propelled her motorcycle forward.

"Why you-!"

Neo gave an infuriating grin.

Oh no. They were going to fight again. We had only been on the road for an hour but Neo and Yang somehow managed to cram an argument around every five minutes.

Warning alarms blared in my head.

"Can someone please answer my question?!" I screamed, trying to avoid the inevitable...or at least delay it. I also thought it would be a _very_ important question to get the answer to.

"The plan?!" Yang called. "Get to Mistral, duh!"

...even I knew that much. "How?!"

Then the forest suddenly ended and we landed on a beach.

Neo screeched to a stop. The motorcycle took a swerve. I focused on my polarity to attach myself to the bike.

It failed. I felt the static magnetism connect and then broke apart,

I not-so-elegantly fell off, landing on the sand with a thump.

I covered my eyes. "Ugh…"

"We get on a boat," said Yang, answering my question. She had jumped off Bumblebee and was now pulling it with her to the shore.

I felt a nudge to my side. I looked up. Neo was holding out a hand.

How unusually generous of her.

I took it and pulled myself up. "Thank you."

' _Now get the bike.'_

I _knew_ there was a secondary motive!

I ended up dragging Taiyang's motorcycle with me anyways. Neo seemed unnaturally smug the whole short journey we took to reach the shore.

I blinked. There was an actual _cruise_ parking at the docks.

What. Was today just a lucky day? I would think Patch wouldn't have such glamorous vehicles parking at it a lot. Perhaps urban tourists just wanted to venture to a desolate island.

Yang held out a hand. "Meet the Pride of Sirens." She grinned proudly. "They owe my dad's Team a favor."

"Your dad's team…?"

I already felt bad about the motorcycle, now I felt bad about taking a favor. A cruise...all of the opportunities just screamed at me.

"Yup," said Yang, popping the 'p'. "Team STRQ. Dad always says they were the best of the best. And Uncle Qrow says they were the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon."

"Impressive," I said, though I had no idea how impressive Team STRQ actually was.

"We lucked out, the cruise just got here," said Yang. "It would suck to wait."

I squinted in the afternoon sunlight. "...I don't know. I think I would enjoy it."

I miss light. Even darkness is better than nothing. I shivered, a cold wave washing through me.

"Well that makes one of us, come on." Yang walked to the docks, Bumblebee besides her. Neo followed behind her.

I was stuck with Taiyang's much bigger, heavier motorcycle.

I decided to take operative and use my polarity to carefully drag it along behind me. The only problem was that it took enough concentration that my head hurt.

I suppose I would be doing polarity beginner practice on the Pride of Sirens.

Oh joy.

It made me feel like I was small again. Still figuring out how aura worked and finding my semblance, then working on it for hours on end so I could master it enough to shape a hairpin into a keyhole and other small things to make my life easier.

Is it nostalgia when it isn't happy memories?

The ramp of the cruise dropped down on the side of the deck as we walked onto it. The captain stepped out. He was what you'd expect from a captain, really. Not the barely-should-be-allowed-to-lead captain like Dolphin. He had the captain's hat. The grizzled feature. The white beard. The nice suit.

He looked at us. Then directly at Yang. "Heh. You must be blondie's kid."

Yang blinked. "Uh...yeah?"

The captain squinted. "And let me guess...the moody raven haired one...I think her name was Raven?"

"...yeah."

I have never heard anyone describe Raven Branwen as 'the moody raven haired one'. The merciless one, yes. Dangerous, yes. Cold-blooded, yes. Moody, no.

It seems with every passing day since my... _rebirth,_ my views were getting revolutionized. I don't know how to feel about it.

And now that I think about it, Raven Branwen _did_ seem a little moody when I met her.

I was too busy quivering in my boots at the time to notice.

And hungry. That too.

I felt someone's eyes on me. It was the captain's.

"You look just like your mother, young lady."

I froze. "W-what?"

Yang quickly waved a hand in front of the captain's face. "Oh, you have the wrong idea! Pyrrha's not related to mo- _Summer_ at all!"

The captain blinked. "Really?"

Do I look like this Summer that much?!

"E-er, yeah," I said. "I don't even know her…"

"My apologies," said the captain. "You just look so much like her…"

"So...where are we headed?" he asked.

"Mistral," said Yang, one hand on her hip.

The captain chuckled. He made a 'follow' motion with his hand and started back up the plank.

"You'll have to be more specific, young lady."

Yang walked behind the captain, bringing Bumblebee along.

I was not aware motorcycles were allowed on cruise ships. Well, I suppose there was nowhere else to store the vehicles. I rolled Taiyang's motorcycle up the ramp.

Neo pleasantly walked onto the cruise, getting onboard far before any of us. She tapped her umbrella on the ground, a grin on her face.

I involuntarily twitched.

Hm...perhaps I should make her do something…? Except I have nothing to make her do. And quite frankly, I disliked handing work to other people.

' _You're too nice'_ Nora had once bluntly told me.

Well perhaps I could finally start being less nice! There was no legacy for me to uphold anymore, I could-

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha~"

I jumped. I was on the cruise now. "Y-yes?"

Yang was giving me a less than impressed look. "Were you daydreaming or something?"

"No...just thinking. Sorry."

Being not nice, fail.

I feel strangely disappointed in myself yet not at the same time.

"That's nice, I guess. I was asking you where we should land? You're from Mistral, right?"

"I-yes." I looked at the captain, who had a fairly amused expression on his face. "Are we not stopping for passengers?"

"Not at all, I was supposed to pick up passengers from Atlas, but then the country shut its borders, so-" he shrugged. "I'm free."

' _Atlas shut its borders?'_ Neo asked with an incredulous look on her face. ' _Why?'_

"Hey, I'm just a simple ship captain," said the captain. "I don't know what the Atlas higher ups are thinking."

Neo frowned. The news was clearly bothering her for some reason.

Though a whole country shutting down outside communications was certainly...unsettling.

Right, back to the question at hand. "Anyhow, do you know of the Docks of Shan Bai?"

The captain frowned. He brushed his beard. "...I've heard of it and they weren't ever good things."

...As expected. It _was_ on Kuchinashi.

It's been a long time.

Yang frowned. "What's so bad about the Docks of Shan Bai?"

' _It's on Kuchinashi,'_ Neo wrote. ' _Only the home to the biggest underworld on Remnant.'_ She stared at me like 'how do _you_ know about that? You're the Mistral Champion!'

"Oh," said Yang.

I gave a weak smile. "If you want to find bandits, that's the place to go."

The captain looked at us worriedly. "I don't know…it's not exactly safe…"

"Don't worry," I said. "We know the place well enough."

Or at least _I_ did.

But who knows? The underworld is known for its ever evolving dynamics. Maybe things have changed a lot the last few years.

Yang blinked. "We do?"

Neo elbowed her.

"I mean, of course we do!"

"Alright…guess I do owe your old man's team a big favor," The captain turned. "I'll be at the controls if you need me."

He walked off, pulling a radio off his belt. "Get ready for sailing to the Docks of Shan Bai!"

Yang kicked out Bumblebee's stand. She looked at me and Neo. "I'm gonna check the place out. Call my scroll if you need me."

She headed in the direction of the ship's bow.

I carefully pulled out Taiyang's motorcycle's stand. I wasn't going to risk breaking someone else's property.

I stood up and stretched.

Neo grabbed my arm, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Oh no.

' _You're going to be getting over that pyrophobia if it kills me."_

' _...not kill me. You get the point.'_

I probably looked like a wild animal ready to run with the horror that was going through my body.

"I...uh, I have polarity practice!"

' _That can wait.'_

"We're on a ship?"

On que, the Pride of Sirens roared to life. Its horns blared and it jerked into movement.

"Neo, I think this is a very very bad idea."

' _And what if you have to fight her again? You're going to faint just from looking at her!''_

Ashes. _Ashes._ I broke into a cold sweat, my body trembling of its own record.

"I-I don't think that's the problem…"

Don't faint! You're not going to faint from an image you conjured in your mind!

Neo rolled her eyes. ' _It's part of the problem.'_

"W-well…" I tried to think of an excuse, except I couldn't. Neo's arguments were sound and it was miles better than actually having to deal with _that woman._

The fire didn't end me. _She_ did.

No, the fire just reminded me of everything.

It was the first step.

That didn't mean I was ready for it.

"L-look Neo, it's still too soon."

Neo let go of my arm. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then she pulled out her lighter and held it up right in front of me.

I backpedaled.

My vision turned red. Before I knew it, my polarity had activated and it flung the lighter out of Neo's hand. It landed on the floorboards feets away, teetering on the edge of falling into the ocean.

' _Well that's a start. If you freaked out like that when you deal with her, maybe you stand a chance...I would say if she wasn't a Maiden.'_ Neo walked to the lighter.

"T-that's not funny." I ran a shaky hand through my hair. "Besides, who says I'll have to fight with... _her_ again?"

"Maybe we'll never cross paths."

Neo picked up her lighter. She turned to face me and rolled her eyes. ' _Do you seriously believe that?'_

"Why would we?"

We weren't looking for _her._ We will never be looking for _her._

I _will_ avoid her at all costs.

' _You're an idiot.'_

"Excuse me?"

I the railings support my back. Mostly to steady myself and my beating heart.

' _You think it's a coincidence your team is traveling to Mistral and she pretended to be a student from Haven?'_

My brain functions shut down. Except that wasn't true. They were working and I wish they weren't.

I slumped to the floor. "N-no. They _can't."_

Neo regarded me with impassive eyes. ' _Revenge is sweet.'_

"This isn't about revenge! They don't stand a chance, Neo! They don't stand a chance…"

They couldn't die. Not after I had for _them._ That would defeat the whole purpose. They couldn't face her. They couldn't!

' _So you're going to get over your stupid fear and help me end her,'_ wrote Neo.

A sense of stupid familiarity helped calm me down to coherency. "Of course you have an ulterior motive…"

Neo grinned. ' _When don't I?"_

She tossed the lighter. It landed at my feet.

I looked Neo in the eyes. "We're taking this _slowly_."

She shrugged. ' _My name is Neopolitan.'_

I placed an unsteady hand on the lighter.

For Team JNPR...and for _Neopolitan,_ I suppose.

* * *

I needed to take a nice _long_ shower and then a nap, preferably one without nightmares.

I was sweating like I had ran a marathon, which I _hadn't_ for once. I was feeling woozy. I was completely stressed out. I was completely dead on my feet.

Too bad I didn't know where the passenger rooms were.

And Neo had abandoned me to go eat at the cruise's buffet.

I don't know why I deal with her. She's more of a detriment to my health than anything.

I found Yang leaning on the railings.

She was looking at a few pictures. Her hair glowed. Maybe it was the sun setting or maybe her hair was _actually_ glowing. You never really know with Yang.

"Hello," I said, walking up to her.

Yang started. "Woah, Pyrrha are you a ninja or something?"

I gave a wry smile. "Contrary to popular belief, not all Mistralians possess ninja training."

"Haha."

I looked at the pictures she was holding in her hand...or her _robotic_ hand anyhow.

It was a...selfie, was it? of Team RWBY. They all looked so _happy._

Except maybe Weiss, but she could hardly count.

I put my arms on the railings. "So...what happened to Team RWBY?"

Yang's breath abruptly stopped for a fraction of a second. From the corner of my eyes, I saw her left arm shake. She quickly covered it.

"I-I mean, you don't have to say anything! Sorry to intrude!"

She shook her head. "No...it's fine."

Yang looked out at the ocean. "I was...kind of messed up, for obvious reasons, so that's one thing. Ruby-Ruby probably would have stayed a little longer if I had _just_ listened to her and maybe we could've gone to Mistral together."

It would have been quite a problem for me if that had happened. I wasn't _happy_ about what Yang had to go through...but it had a purpose?

"Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father. Probably something stupid about Schnee appearance or something." Yang snorted.

Then...Weiss was likely stuck back in Atlas, especially with the recent shut down.

That sounded horrible. She never spoke of her home much and from personal experience, when you didn't speak about your home, it probably wasn't a very good one.

"And-" Yang's voice hitched. "And Blake just _ran."_

I blinked. "She...ran?"

Yang's fists clenched. "She _ran off_ right after the Fall. Like-like nice knowing you, tata!"

That didn't sound like Blake. I was sure she cared about her Team. "Maybe she had her reasons?"

"What reasons?!" Yang's eyes turned red and I had to step back from her intimidating aura. "So a faunus did _this_ to me. It has nothing to do with her!"

A faunus…? I suppose I never got the full story.

"She doesn't have to feel responsible just because her race did something! If I did that for the human race, I'd want to kill myself!"

Oh, I see now. I may be dense with my own emotions (thanks Nora) but I am proud to say I was good with _other people's_ emotions.

Yang is mad at Blake for leaving her, yes, but she was also mad at Blake for _taking all the responsibility._

In the end, Yang just really cares about Blake.

I think they need to reunite. To talk everything out with each other.

"Blake has...an unusual sense of responsbility," I said slowly. "But I'm sure she had the best intentions in mind. Have you tried contacting her?"

Yang looked away. "No."

"That could be a good start."

"It's not like I have any idea where she is." Yang put an extra aloofness in her voice. Sarcasm.

That was true enough. "Well, I think once we find your mother and Ruby, perhaps we could look for Blake."

"Drop it, Pyrrha, just...drop it."

I stepped back. "Alright...just, if you need me, I'll be there."

I took one more look at the visible photo in Yang's hand and started walking towards the controls.

I couldn't shake the disturbing resemblance I had with Ruby from my head.

* * *

The rest of the journey was quite uneventful. A lot of sitting around, dealing with Neo's lighter, and more sitting around.

I had gotten to the point where, if I didn't think about it _too hard,_ I could hold the lighter...sort of.

The first time, I dropped it in under a minute, my mind flashing back to _that woman._

Then Neo, being Neo, forced the stupid lighter back on me.

My record is five and a quarter minutes so far. But I _can_ use polarity to move the lighter around me...albeit sluggishly and for a limited amount of time.

Neo also refused to count it.

Something about avoiding my fears.

It took three days of no stops to reach the Ports of Shan Bai.

We were greeted with suspicious, especially unwelcoming eyes.

Par for the course in Kuchinashi.

Yang scanned the port. Shady characters with hoods walked past. Small, rickety boats pulled out of the harbor.

...and starving children ran around looking for any semblance of food.

I spotted a man pickpocketing another man. It lead to a fist fight.

The buildings were all bland colors. Grey or tan seemed to be the only options. They all looked the same, though varying in length. The place smelled of pollution, a problem easily avoidable since the old times, long before I was born.

"This place give me the creeps," muttered Yang.

The captain shared her opinion and didn't even pull the Pride of Sirens into the port. He unhinged the ramp. It landed on the skinny road to the side of the lake.

I frankly couldn't blame him.

"Let's go," I said.

Yang swing a feet over Bumblebee. The engines roared to life.

Neo jumped onto Taiyang's motorcycle. I followed suit.

Neo and Yang glared at each other. Then both motorcycles started, accelerating from zero to their limits. I had to hold on for dear life. One thought repeated in my head as we skidded onto the streets of Kuchinashi.

Home sweet home, huh?

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hallelujah! Another chapter guys! Oh and in case you missed this last week because of some tech difficulties...I still think it's completely depressing that Pyrrha, Neo, and Yang make PNY.**

* * *

 **End Credits**

Taiyang wiped at his eyes with a piece of cloth. His feelings were completely jumbled. It had been a long time since he had shed tears for Summer...though his heart still aches every time he thought of her.

And he was sure Qrow and Raven did too, though Raven would certainly never admit such a thing.

Gods, he needed a breather. A nice ride on his slick motorcycle should do the trick. He opened the garage.

And promptly did a double-take.

His motorcycle was strangely absent. The only thing left was the black cloak used to cover it. He walked over to where his motorcycle _should_ be. A hastily written note sat on top of it. Taiyang grabbed the note.

 _Neo stole the bike (she's an ass). Sorry!_

 _Love, Yang_

Taiyang blinked once. Then twice.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Guest: Thanks!**

 **Summer-Rose-RWBY: Glad I inspire the feelings. Will do!**

 **niceguyasexual: Who knows? Nyahahaha ;)**

 **Allison Illuminated: I do...like I said on the other story, it was a technical issue 0_o. And I hope you keep on loving these chapters!**

 **TJMike: You'll see! Mwahahaha! (Preferably insert Cinder's evil laughter from Chibi)**

 **merendinoemilliano: Glad it was cute! And Pyrrha's background will be unveiled...and I'm glad I could hit emotions, wasn't sure if I was good at them or not :)**

* * *

 **Please give Constructive Critisicm and Suggestions, they go a long way!**

 **Tell me what you think by Review, show the love through Favourite, and keep up by pressing Follow!**

 **(Man that was good.)**


	11. Chp X: Absolution

**Chp X: Absolution**

 **Disclaimer: Not the owner of RWBY, never will be.**

 **"/I was not born guilty of your crimes/Your riches and influences can't hold me anymore/" 'This Life is Mine' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

I don't know what I was expecting from Kuchinashi. The last time I had been here...gods, it's been what, four years?

I can't say I _missed_ it.

Kuchinashi, at its core, was a rotten city. Built on lies and secrets. It was a place where nothing was safe and no one felt safe. A city that didn't really give a damn to its inhabitants.

No, I don't miss it, but I can't say I didn't feel _something_ as I watched the city go by. I have heard of a phenomenon known as nostalgia but wasn't that reserved for happy memories? Well, I can't say Kuchinashi didn't have happy memories...they just happened to be buried under less than happy memories. The feeling could only be described as warm sickliness. Yes, I liked that.

We drove past a factory, smoke emitting from it like poison. It _was_ poison to some people. Especially the faunus who had sensitive organs. Wasn't a pretty way to go.

Kuchinashi was one of the few remaining cities to still use rudimentary fuel, such as coal. ...because the city didn't get nearly enough shipments of dust each year. Something I was keenly aware of. The lengths people would go to to obtain the luxury was _legendary._

Yes, like hiring little-

 _Ow!_ An elbow hit me in the side. I had to stable myself as to not Fall off the bike. My hand gripped onto the metal sternum.

"W-what was that?"

Neo glared back at me. I felt a little worried that she only had one hand on the motorcycle handle, scratch that, I _was_ worried.

She pointed a thumb at Yang, who I hadn't noticed had pulled up next to us.

I blinked slowly. "Yes…?"

"Pyrrha. I literally called you like ten times." Yang sent me an unimpressed look.

"You did?" Actually, that would make a lot of sense. Yang and Neo probably needed directions or an objective of some sort. I doubt they had ever visited Kuchinashi before. Well, perhaps Neo, but I don't particularly want her to be on her scroll while driving.

It was basic safety precaution after all.

"S-sorry, I must zoned out."

Neo threw me a frown.

"Again?" asked Yang.

Again? ...now that I think about it, this _has_ happened an awful lot recently. Before, I would've never left myself so vulnerable. Now, I was drifting off into who knows where.

Concerning. I needed to stop. Focus on the surroundings and nothing else.

"Next time I seem out of it, shake me," I said to both Yang and Neo.

Yang gave me a grin. "Sure thing." Her grin turned strained. "Now what? We've been driving around for ages-"

' _Ten minutes, bimbo.'_

"Neo!" I reprimanded, both for the nickname and writing while driving.

"Shut up, Neo," said Yang. " _Anyways,_ we've been driving around for _ten_ minutes, do you have a plan or at least a starting point?"

"Yes," I said, because it was the truth. I knew exactly where we could get information on the Branwen Tribe, but at the same time I had something to do.

Something I've been putting off for far too long. No, it was more like I forcefully buried it in the depths of my mind and recent events had forced it to reemerge.

"But...you two don't mind if I visit somewhere first?"

Yang blinked. "Why would you need to go anywhere in this dump?"

Maybe it was the atmosphere or maybe it was being here again but I suddenly felt almost snappy. "This _dump_ is where I grew up."

Yang looked startled. Even Neo actually, whose eyes widened a fraction of an inch. I suppose learning that the 'esteemed' Mistral Champion came from one of the worst cities on Remnant would be quite surprising. ...if only they knew I was technically an illegal student as well. Ha...ha.

"Oh shit, sorry Pyrrha."

"It's fine." I looked at the streets. The sun was just about to set and already the walkways were empty, the road desolate. The less than the already unsavory characters living in the city would appear soon. I would rather not encounter them. "I never considered Kuchinashi home anyways."

I looked ahead, seeing right past Neo thanks to our height difference. Something I would be hard pressed to say to Neo out loud.

"But first, we're not staying the night here."

Yang shivered. "Yeah, doesn't seem like the nicest place to stay."

' _Forest camping?'_ asked Neo.

" _Please,_ hands on the handle, eyes looking forward," I said through gritted teeth as I was forced to tighten my grip on Neo's waist when the vehicle suddenly lopsided to the right.

Neo rolled her eyes as the motorcycle straightened.

Didn't she care about safety?!

"Forest camping…" I would really rather not but… "It's our best option. There's a forest next to the place I need to go to. Sorry, I forgot to mention it's on the outskirts of the city."

"Cool, haven't been camping in a while." Yang gained a nostalgic smile. "Don't know about you but I don't have internet."

Neo shook her head.

I suppose even her magical wifi connection could only go so far.

"Guess we're flying blind. Counting on you, Pyrrha."

It's been four years, but I would be hard pressed to forget how to go there. Especially considering the amount of times I'd traveled to the location, a _very_ unhealthy habit in hindsight.

"Will do." Neo and Yang had (very luckily) naturally drifted to the central road of Kuchinashi, a large circle in the commercial portion of the city. Like many Mistralian cities, as I had soon realized during my championship run, Kuchinashi was not built in a square formation in the likes of Vale and Atlas but a circle formation spiraling towards the center. However, unlike other Mistralian cities, Kuchinashi was a spiral maze filled with dead ends, tiny streets, blocked exits, and secret exits. The result one should expect when they hand off the city to wealthy businessmen that had no idea how to actually run an economy.

I took in a breath. Getting angry was never the right solution to a problem.

"Alright, take a left at the next exit you see."

My attention became hyper focused on actually getting us to my destination instead of ending up in one of the _many_ back alley prostitute clubs.

* * *

Of course I should've expected an attack of some kind. Three nicely dressed, admittedly attractive looking woman on two very expensive looking vehicles? We were practically begging to get assaulted. In fact, by this point it wouldn't make much a difference if we wore giant signs that said 'PLEASE ATTACK ME'.

If I was the one on the streets, I would have attempted a robbery _long_ ago. And if I would say so myself, I'd probably succeed in at least taking the scrolls and wallets. Polarity was a true gift for thieves, eh? No, Pyrrha, you can't go back into that mindset...never again. You promised yourself.

I saw the attack far ahead of time and from the way Neo flicked her hand, I would say she did too.

We were in one of the narrower roads, littered with useless garbage and empty garbage cans as the homeless had searched through the cans for any valuable supplies and left the useless things on the floor. It wasn't the _perfect_ place to set up an ambush but certainly a very good one. The buildings here were low, low enough to jump off of without hurting yourself if your aura was unlocked and activated.

The shadows streaking through the sunset didn't fool me, no matter how much those vigilantes may have tried. The trickster cannot be tricked, as it were.

Admittedly I was pretty certain Yang hadn't noticed beforehand but she more than made up for it by pure reaction time.

It was almost scary really. The first assaulter threw themself off a building, a rusty knife aimed at Yang's throat.

We were dealing with those willing to kill then.

Bumblebee swerved 180 degrees, sliding to a stop as the assaulter landed on the floor. He had grey hair but was somehow in what looked to be his twenties and wore a tattered grey cloak. He tilted his knife. Then Yang's motorcycle jerked forward and she slammed her robotic fist into the man's stomach. It propelled him into a trash can with a bang. He groaned.

I...would feel sorry if he didn't just try to murder one of my friends.

"Clay!" Another cloaked figure jumped from the roof. She landed in front of Yang, a steel dagger held at the ready.

I held out a hand and concentrated, urging the metal to gravitate to me. It worked far too well. The dagger was pulled from the purple haired woman's hand, zooming towards me. I pushed. It clattered to the ground between the woman and I.

Neo changed gears. The motorcycle swerved around, dishing towards the knife. I picked it off the ground as we past. Neo brought the motorcycle to a screeching stop in front of the woman. She snapped her hand up. Her umbrella appeared out of her sleeve and into her hand, pointed straight at the throat of the woman.

We stood in tense silence. Then the woman broke down into tears, head tilting down. "Please...my apologies, I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Neo mocked a snort. Yang _actually_ snorted. It made sense, I'm pretty certain appearing with a knife and/or a dagger meant some harm to the opposition, unless they were serving food, and these two certainly weren't.

My assumption turned out to be more than correct when I felt metal at my throat.

"Pyrrha!" Yang's eyes flashed red.

"Get the umbrella kid's umbrella off of her and I'll let you go," growled the person behind me, undoubtedly the first assaulter.

"Neo..." Yang glared at the umbrella obsessed former criminal..

The mini-adult gave Yang a very unimpressed look. _'He wants a lot more than Miss Nice Try over here.'_

Of course, oldest trick in the criminal guideline. Tell someone that you can do/get them something they absolutely needed for a price, they comply, you higher the price, they comply, and it goes on.

So yes, Neo's decision to _not_ do what the assaulter said was likely the best one.

And I would like to think that she carried faith in me and quickly glancing back with a small smile was not a figment of my imagination.

Well, I always did need to impress. I stomped on the man's foot, causing him to lose focus for a fraction of a second. It was more than enough time. I elbowed him in the stomach hard, causing him to stagger back. I unlatched White Rose from my belt, connecting the swords together in a lance and aimed it at him. Deadlock.

"Okay…that's one way to solve the problem," said Yang. I could've sworn I saw her left arm shake. She looked between the man and the woman., a scowl on her face. "Why don't we just forget this ever happened?"

"Clay-" started the woman.

"Huntsmen, every single one of you!" spatted the man. "You're all the same! You take from the people that need the most and then leave the damn city on your merry journey! Save us from Grimm or-or faunus or even other men and then demand payment when you know we can't afford any. Walk around in nice little outfits, with shiny new weapons, and drive in expensive vehicles!"

He was angry. He was justified to be angry. But that _didn't mean it was okay to take it out on the not guilty._ "Please-"

"I bet you probably have shitty noblemen as parents too! Helping you every step of the way!"

...that was going way too far. I felt as if someone had punched me in the guts.

I barely saw it happen but Neo was suddenly in front of the man. She grabbed his cloak and dragged him down. Her estoc poked out of her umbrella, it stopped on contact with the skin on the neck of the man. Blood trickled from the touch.

Neo's eyes went through a flurry of colors, greys, oranges, blues, yellows, purples, landing on pure red. The man looked at her in abject fear.

"Neo, don't-" I began because _I wasn't going to let anyone die. Ever. Again._

I heard running footsteps behind me. On reflex, I twirled, slamming the flat part of White Rose's blade into the body of the woman. She stumbled and fell, clearly too malnourished to actually do much in the ways of defense.

Yang's eyes flickered around, trying to figure out what on Remnant to do.

I had the same problem.

Neo pulled back her umbrella and released her grip on the man's cloak. The man frantically stumbled back. ' _Lowlife like you aren't worth it,'_ she declared with an illusion of glass words appearing above her.

Though frankly, the two assaulters turned defeated likely couldn't read. In these parts, the only people who were homeless and _could_ read are those that join gangs, and were _very good_ at what they do.

' _We're leaving. If I see their faces again, I might just commit homicide.'_

Leaving seemed like a good idea. Neo hopped onto her-I mean Taiyang's bike. I trailed after her. Looking back, I saw the woman race to the man.

Well, at least they had each other.

Yang looked a little shaken by the confrontation. She grabbed onto Bumblebee's handle and lifted herself onto the motorcycle. Then she threw on her helmet. It seemed, at the very least, she was in agreement to leave.

Then from somewhere rang the cry of what was undoubtedly a baby. Neo nearly jumped off Taiyang's motorcycle. I froze.

"Was that...a baby?" asked Yang. She left her helmet dangling by her fingers.

The woman's eyes widened. The man noticeably tensed. He glared at us, trying to look intimidating, but more as if he was looking out for any moves we make, like a deer caught in the headlights.

A sinking feeling welled up in my stomach.

 _'You've got to be kidding me,'_ summed up Neo pretty well.

"Just...leave." All the fight seemed to seep out of the man at once. His posture became slumped, defeated.

Yang hesitated. "I mean-"

"Please," said the woman, falling to her knees. She bowed down her head. " _Please_."

Yang looked distinctly uncomfortable and I felt it too. This was a act of submission, an act in fear.

In fear of _us._

...let's go," I said. "Yang."

"But-"

 _'All we'll do is make this shit worse.'_ That's what Neo wrote, she made it sound so simple. But she looked skittish, more disturbed than I've ever seen her. She tapped urgently on the handle of Taiyang's motorcycle.

And I couldn't help it. I took my time strolling towards Neo, and with a little push from polarity, I felt cards fall out from my pocket.

Not that anyone but the man and woman knew it thanks to my cloak. It covered up the falling cards nicely, only revealing them once I walked away.

I didn't look back to see their expression. I didn't need to, it would make no difference.

I swung leg over Neo's (Taiyang's) motorcycle, put a hand around Neo's waist, and lift my feet off the ground. Immediately, the motorcycle roared to life. It bursted into action, speeding away.

It wasn't until it stopped that I noticed Neo had been lightly shaking.

* * *

We pulled up at my stop in the dark. The sun had long since passed and the only light were those on the front of our motorcycles.

"Pyrrha, this is-"

"Yeah." I slid off the motorcycle. "You're welcome to stay here. I...don't think you'd want to come with."

' _Wouldn't be the first time I visited a grave this week,'_ Neo commented. She turned on the flashlight function for her scroll and kicked out the motorcycle's stand. She pulled out the keys. The vehicle's puttered to a stop.

I was pretty certain that _wasn't_ how you properly turned off a motorcycle.

"A cemetary...I hope we're not sleeping here…" Yang tried to joke, it fell flat as her voice trailed. "Okay, what do you need to do, Pyrrha?" She carefully set Bumblebee's stand down before getting off.

"Visit someone."

It wasn't hard to find the graves. They were engraved in my memories like the rest-no, I shouldn't say 'like the rest of my memories', this was...different. These graves marked the end of the days I had a place called 'home'.

It was a small cemetery. A place for souls who didn't have family…or family that could support them anyways. The cemetery was falling apart, even more so than four years ago.

Did anyone even take care of it anymore? Or bother to come here?

There was a tiny church that the path lead to. No one had visit since I was very small. The walls were cracked and it was evident small animals had made their home there. Good for them, I suppose.

I stopped halfway to the church, where I spotted the slabs. My feet took me to them, crunching through grass with every step.

Two stone slabs engraved side by side in the soil.

 _Daenerys Rowan_

 _May You Rest In Peace_

 _Teal Rowan_

 _May You Rest In Peace_

I suddenly had the urge to quickly get this over with. The realization that I was in a _graveyard_ , previously hidden by familiarity, suddenly surfaced. I was in a _graveyard_ where the dead were left to rot. And in a graveyard, _my name_ might be engraved in a stone somewhere.

I swallowed. So what? I'm here now and that's what mattered. Right?

' _Who are these people?'_ Neo asked bluntly, seeing that I had come to a stop.

Yang stood several feet away in respect. She held out a hand to keep Neo back with her.

"Rowan means flowering trees," I said aloud. I gave a small smile to the graves. "...and redhead."

"I should've visited them sooner." But I've been so busy no, that wasn't it. _I was scared to come here again._

I kept my eyes on the graves. "As a kid, I would always visit them." I let out a small laugh, it sounded strained even to my own ears. "And talk to them, and give them gifts."

 _Even when I couldn't afford to._

"...that's normal," said Yang, a faraway tone in her voice. "Ruby does it all the time."

"It's not the same," I rasped. "I think-I _realized_ that I wanted them to _come back_. And I don't think it was because I missed them."

I needed to sit down. I don't want to. The ground made me ill with what was buried under. It reminded me of me. Not here, I wasn't going to remember here.

So I stood on loose feet. My legs numb. And I knew Yang and Neo were waiting with bated breaths, waiting for me to continue.

I didn't want to.

Some things are better kept private. Some things a person would rather keep private.

"Mother, father…" I do have one thing to say. "I know what it's like now, for what it's worth, I hope you have a better time than me."

"I'm going to use my second chance wisely and I'm not going to do it with the past hanging over me."

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos….this is goodbye."

So I turned, took one last glance at the stone slabs that had ruled my life for eight years and the people that ruled my life for thirteen years…

...and walked away.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: life is busy and I'm lazy af. There, that's my excuse. You know what? From now on my update schedule is: Whenever I feel like it. Yeah I like that.**

 **And I trying something new. Slowing down the plot for more character development and interactions, let's see how this works...**

 **Beta is bro**

* * *

 **End Credits**

Raven's semblance had an incredible downside. She could feel the person on the other side of her connection. Not well, of course, but enough to know the basics. Fine, horror, pain...living, dead. And it completely freaked her out that she was feeling a _dead_ connection. A connection that had been dead for _ten years._

Summer. The person in question sent equal parts guilt and anger through her...and more emptiness than Raven would admit.

But it was impossible, because Summer Rose was dead. Raven had checked herself, she could scarcely believe it at the time, but _Summer Rose was dead_ and _nothing_ brought back the dead.

Raven Branwen might not show it nor would she ever admit it, but she was scared of what she could find on the other side of the portal. _She didn't want to know._ She had learned that some things are better left mysteries, a lesson she would smash into her younger self.

And besides, she _was_ very busy. The life of the infamous Raven Branwen was a very crowded one.

"Help...please."

"What do you think?" She heard one of her bandits ask.

She found her eyes looking at an injured white haired girl around her daughter's age laying on the ground next to a destroyed cargo ship. What an unusual world this was.

"I think...we just hit the jackpot."

It would be another day that Raven Branwen confronted her past, for now, she would put aside her distracting conflicts and rule the present.

She stomped on the girl's face. Lights out.

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Nerd315: Mwahahaha-you'll see!**

 **merendinoemilliano: woah, if Pyrrha was related to Adam, mindblowned!**

 **Summer-Rose-RWBY: that was a grammatical error on my part, Taiyang was talking about Yang, as in (you, Yang) but my end credits should answer your question :)**

 **grufman275: Woah. Thanks for the Critisicm. Alright, I'll slow down the story, even I notice how quick it's going and yes, I admit Yang was quick to believe so I'll probably be much more reluctant with the rest of the crew. And for the identity crisis thing, I don't have that planned as Ashened Rose is pretty much about that and I don't want to write two criseses 0_o. As for the one liner paragraphs, I like to think they show what I want to put empathize on, though I'll try to lower their counts. But Thanks again! Srsly!**

 **KuletXCore: thanks for the support!**

 **meeeyaaargh3412: voila!**

* * *

 **if you wanna discuss, Twitter ArosCao_ARC is the place.**

 **Review, Favorite, and Follow if the story deserves it!**


	12. Chp XI: Foward

**Chp XI: Foward**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is not mine.**

 **"/In the time of our final moments/Every dream dies/" ~ 'I May Fall' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a family. They were renowned throughout Mistral for their trade and market skills. They were wealthy and respected, when they passed people looked. Then one day the head of the family and her husband died in a car accident.

The tale sounded so cliche.

It hardly mattered anyhow.

Yang and Neo haven't said much to me after the admittedly dramatic fiasco I put up at the graveyard. As it turned out none of us would prefer the broken down church to the forest. Even I, who has decided she hates forests, simply did not like to entertain the idea of sleeping in a building where people have likely been cremated and coffins have sat.

Yang walked back into the clearing with a new pile of wood. She threw a few sticks into the fire she and Neo had set up and put the rest down. Yang wiped her forehead, then sat down on a log.

Neo fiddled with her scroll, promptly ignoring the blonde. It was certainly better than an argument so I was fine with their complete lack of interactment.

I watched the flames flicker up and down from a good safe distance away, sitting behind both my companions' logs. At least I was trying, though the fire sent constant waves of dread in my direction. Better than before, I suppose. _Much better._ Admittedly, I have to begrudgingly thank Neo for the process...not that I ever would. Yet.

It was likely unusual and most definitely foolish, but I dislike not giving my thanks to any act of kindness. It felt _off_ not to. Nora had said I was too nice, but what Ren said after his partner had took her turn was what resonated-and bothered-me the most.

I hugged my cloak tighter to myself.

* * *

 _I watched Nora slam close the bathroom door in typical loud Nora fashion. Then I went back to sharpening Milo. The tournaments were coming up and admittedly, they set my nerves on always did. The attention dug at my skin. Before then? My job was to_ avoid _attention at all costs. If you got caught you were dead, or worst, beat. The best outcome was jail, I suppose. Though, running away was always a valid option._

 _The point was, ten years worth of ingrained knowledge was distressingly hard to erase._

 _I didn't pay much attention to Ren as he entered the room and walked past, barring the usual sharpened awareness I possessed of course. Though those skills had become dull from lack of need in the last few years. Slightly worrying, but all the more freeing._

 _...I wonder how Jaune was doing. He was the only member of Team JNPR to return home for break. Well, he did say something about seven sisters at the dance...I ignored my blush. Anyways, seven sisters and parents, he was in more than good hands. Yes, more than good hands._

 _Though I_ was _slightly intrigued by Ren and Nora's reactions when Jaune asked if they were going home. They had glanced at each other and on their faces were expressions I associated with those that had lost something. It reminded me of the many orphans on the streets of Kuchinashi...including me._

 _I resolved to settle on the theory that the inseparable duo had a past they would much rather keep under. Understandable, though admittedly they could be better at masking emotions._

 _At the very least, it meant they haven't steeped as low as me._

 _But no one should have to live a life even similar to mine. Not while people_ can _help if they just put their mind to it._

 _I nearly sliced off my thumb in thought. Close call._

" _Pyrrha?"_

 _My hands stopped at the sound of my 'name', no, it_ was _my true name now. I looked up. "Yes, Ren?"_

 _The person in question sat on top of his bed, a water bottle in his hand._

 _Poor Ren, he just came back from the training grounds and Nora had stolen the shower._

" _Yesterday…"_

 _I frowned. "Did something happen?"_

" _Well, no. Nora said you were too nice, remember?"_

" _I-that isn't true." He had no idea._

 _Ren gave me an incredulous look. "Yesterday, you were late to class because Sky asked you to help train him."_

" _Well he isn't that bad…" Wrong crowd, really. He had the misfortune of being on Team CRDL. "And that's just common courtesy."_

" _And the day before, you were late to return because people kept on asking you for your autograph."_

 _Admittedly, that was tiring though... "I do have a duty to oblige as the Mistral Champion."_

 _Ren drank from his water bottle before setting it down on the nightstand, now empty. "I won't repeat what Nora already said. But I will say...you have to learn how to say 'no', Pyrrha."_

" _I…"_

" _And done!" The door to the bathroom was kicked open. Nora charged out with only a towel wrapped around her body. She halted to a stop in the middle of the room. "Oh Renny! You're back!"_

 _Ren sighed. "It's my turn now…" He left his bed. "Try to put some thought into what I said, Pyrrha."_

 _Nora looked between Ren and I. "Did I miss something?"_

" _No." Ren shut closed the door to the bathroom._

 _I looked down at Milo and the whetstone in my other hand and made a split-second decision. "I'll be at the training grounds, Nora."_

* * *

' _Try to put some thought into what I said…'_

I did. But change is hard and change is scary. I was taught that saying 'no' was essential in a life in Kuchinashi but _it was one of the few things that never seemed to connect._ 'No' is a word I dislike. 'No' is what people say when they're unwilling to help, unwilling to give a hand.

I can't stop disliking 'no'. Irrational? Yes, but aren't most things of the human psyche? Why else do people hoard objects that are all but useless to them?

...which quite frankly brings me back to fire. Fire...fire...ashes...I shivered as _that_ sensation came filtering in.

Ignore it, Pyrrha. You have to.

JNPR...I was in Mistral, I was close, yet Istollb felt so far away.

Neo might have theorized that JNPR or to be more accurate, _JN_R's_ destination is Haven Academy, it was only that, a _theory._ What if they weren't there-what if Neo's wrong? _That would be the best case scenario..._ right? If they're going to Haven, it's because…

Because of _them._

But then what are the chances I would find my teammates if they're not? Mistral is enormous, one could spend their whole life traversing it and still not see everything.

A cold feeling of hopelessness washed over me, even as the fire provided _un_ comforting warmth.

I shivered again.

I had to think positive-we _will_ find them. No matter how long it may-

"What the heck?! No Huntsman would do that!" Yang exclaimed.

I nearly jumped off of my log. No, instead I fell over. "Wh-what?" I sat up, my body now on the forest floor.

"Crap, sorry Pyrrha," said Yang. She walked over and held out a hand. I took it, pulling myself up.

"It's my fault for not paying attention...again." I winced. Losing myself in thoughts...why? It felt so easy to slip out of reality. _Scarily_ easy.

Like I was in my own world.

"Nah, just talking with Neo." Yang glanced back. Neo, for her part, gave an unfazed look back. She nodded at me.

"Yeah, know you have a lot to deal with right now and stuff…" said Yang, almost awkwardly.

Don't we all? But...I frowned. "You...and Neo?"

"Hahaha...we can have coherent conversations...every once in a while." Yang gave Neo the stink eye. " _Every once in a while."_

Neo's unfazed look was replaced with a glare.

"Coherent conversations sound ideal," I decided. "...what about?"

' _Finding out how innocent blondie here is,'_ wrote Neo. ' _It's so cute.'_

"I am _not_ innocent." Yang stepped towards Neo, eyes flickering red.

' _She thinks all Huntsmen are righteous and shit. Can you believe that?'_ Neo rolled her eyes for added effect.

"Language," I reprimanded distractly. I leaned against a tree, a few feet away from my log. "It's...understandable. Neo, you can't fault Yang for her belief. And she _is_ far from innocent…"

She _lost an arm_ for god's sake. I couldn't resist eyeing Yang's metal arm from the corner of my eyes.

Neo mocked a huff.

Yang growled in frustration. "Pyrrha, you're basically saying the same thing."

I frowned. How do I word this. "I mean...Huntsmen are...are... _very diverse."_

Yang frowned. She tossed another stick into the fire and watched it burn. "Very diverse?"

How to say this? "People become Huntsmen for different reasons," I began. "Why did you become a Huntsman, Yang?"

"Me?" asked Yang. She cast her eyes down and crossed her arms in thought. "Well...I mean, I guess it kinda ran in the family."

' _I call BS,'_ declared Neo. _Your mom is THE Bandit to rule all bandits.'_

Yang glared. "But she's still a Huntress, was, whatever."

' _Really? You think mama bird went to the shining Beacon to protect the world? Ha. You make me laugh.'_

"You can't laugh," Yang muttered.

My brain faltered for a split second. She didn't just-I hope Neo doesn't take that too seriou-

Neo jumped off of her log, her estoc suddenly at Yang's throat. Her eyes narrowed into slits. ' _Say that again?'_

Yang, for her part, looked stunned, as if she couldn't believe what came out of her own mouth. Her lips moved but no sounds came out.

The scene of a fiery blonde towering over a silent but deadly mute whose weapon was a fraction away from cutting out her opposition's throat while fire flickered in the background was strangely enticing in a way. But this wasn't a film or a story, _these were real people I knew and this was a dangerous situation._

I quickly grabbed Neo's wrist. Stepping in between would only mean I might be in the crossfire. Something I was highly motivated to _avoid._

I looked between the two. "Shall we _please_ settle this peacefully?"

' _Let me cut off her tongue first and then we can talk about talking.'_

Yang's aura flared at the remark. Auras were unusual. They represented a being's existence and Yang Xiao Long was all fire.

No, that wasn't right. Fire was _that woman's_ too. _That woman's_ aura was filled with malevolence. It burned with hatred and desire.

Yang Xiao Long was the fire that warms people. That strikes out against those it seems _evil._ That flares up with passion and devotion.

Perhaps I should learn something about the different types of fire.

No, I still had a situation on my hands and I had just lost myself in thought yet again.

I shook my head. " _No one_ is going to be cutting off _anything._ Just...Yang, apologize please."

Yes, Neo had admittedly provoked Yang, but...there was often no right or wrong, merely the _best_ option.

Neo looked at Yang expectantly, her estoc still as close to the blonde's throat as it had been the moment she striked.

Yang's aura settled down. "...sorry."

"Good." I let out a sigh. "Neo?"

In response, she shook my hand off and her umbrella shot back into her sleeve. Neo turned her back on us, then moodily walked away.

...it looked like Yang and Neo's relationship was back at ground zero, or perhaps even in the negatives.

I glanced back at Yang. "...that was unkind."

Yang pursed her lips. "I-yeah, probably...g'night, Pyrrha."

"Have a good night."

* * *

I woke up with a gasp, my heart pounding in my chest. I ran a hand through my hair, finding it sweaty.

Sleep hasn't been easy ever since my _reawakening_.

The dreams have only been nightmarish.

The emptiness only a reminder of _that place of nothing._

I looked around and count myself lucky I hadn't fallen off the tree I was sleeping in. It wasn't particularly high, but it certainly would've been a rude awakening. It was still dark, but a faint trace of pink had painted the sky. The stars were still shining yet they would soon be swallowed by the sun.

What a strangely poetic mood I had set myself in.

I pushed myself up with one hand on the trunk of the tree. A bird cawed and quickly flew away.

I took in and let out some meditative breaths, ridding myself of the repetitive nightmares for the day.

At least I know I won't be going back to sleep anytime soon.

I needed something to do. If I stayed still, I would go back into my own mind, where it feels like I might get lost forever.

I leaped onto the ground, scattering leaves. From above, I heard soft snoring. I looked up to the sight of a sleeping blonde.

Well at least someone had no troubles-

" _Get away from her! No, no-"_ Yang's brows furrowed. She began thrashing about.

I stepped back a little at the suddenness of the words. Then I took in a deep breath and reprimanded myself.

I wasn't the only one with problems. We all had different problems and Yang...she was strong to still be standing even after losing a limb, even after she didn't have her teammates anymore.

I'm sure she was stronger than me. I'm sure if she faced the person that hurt her, she could stand up to them and I'm sure if she saw Blake, they could talk it out.

Me? I was afraid of _fire._ I can't even think of _that woman_ without flashing back to _then_. And-and I don't know what I would say to JN_R. I don't know where I would begin when I see them again. Sorry for trying-and failing-to be a hero? Sorry for leaving?

 _I just don't know and I'm scared of what's to come._

 _Just like I was twelve years ago._

But this time there was no miracle leader handing me orders.

I climbed up Yang's tree and threw my cloak on her. Then I tied it around a branch. At least this way, Yang would be a little more comfortable and have a much less likely chance of falling to the ground by accident.

"Mm...mom."

I froze. Not that again. It was unnerving.

I quickly jumped back down to the ground.

Yes, I should check on Neo next.

I blinked. _Where was Neo?_

Certainly nowhere in the surrounding area.

Now that I was listening, my ears picked up on the faint sound of metal slicing through air. I walked in the direction of the noise, pushing leaves and twigs out of my way. My shoulders felt light, _too light_ without my cloak, seeing as I had taken to wearing it everywhere. Something about it just made me want to keep it with me at all times, no exception. Huh, now I have something in common with Ruby.

Besides my new appearance, that is.

As if the world wanted to hand me an ironic twist, I was met with a clearing and a vast lake when I pushed to the side the last of the branches.

I hesitantly walked to the shore. The water rippled, the reflection of the moon unsteady.

And my reflection too.

The short black hair with red tips and the round face that weren't mine were starting to grow on me. I was seeing it _as me. Except it wasn't._

This wasn't who I was mere months ago but…

The human mind was said to be always evolving. Ever changing. I look at my reflection and already it felt as if that was the only body I ever had.

Before, my hair was deep red and long. My face sharp and my stature tall. My form forced to be strong yet thin from years on the street.

Yes, that was what I was supposed to look like-but…

My memory was already foggy.

I couldn't remember the little details.

I couldn't remember exactly how tall I was. If I had been taller than Yang or not.

If I recall, someone once asked.

' _If a fake is everything the real thing is, is it the real thing?'_

They had also said.

' _The fake might be more powerful than the real thing because they have to put effort into imitating the real deal.'_

Well, I don't know about that but...I looked at my moving reflection.

At the very least, I knew I was the real deal. I was Pyrrha Nikos.

 _I had to be._

I finally found Neo when I reentered the woods. It was quite shocking to see her impale a rabbit with malice, then turning around and slicing an incoming Grimm in half. She looked positively enraged actually.

A dumb "uh…" couldn't help escaping my mouth.

I regretted my body's automatic functions when Neo's estoc came flying towards me and I needed to roll to the side lest I was impaled.

Neo stared at me, which quickly became a glare. She pulled out her scroll. ' _What are you doing here?'_

My mind was much more focused on the estoc. "...that could've hurt someone, Neo."

' _I had all the faith in the world that you could avoid that fate.'_

"You didn't even know it was me."

Neo spun and kicked a Beowulf in the head with her high heels.

The Grimm disintegrated into smoke.

Was Neo emitting negativity?

' _Whatever,'_ she wrote in response to my statement.

Well, I wasn't going to debate with her. Especially considering she had just been slaughtering innocent animals.

It was hard for me to remind myself that yes, Neo _was_ and still _is_ very much a dangerous criminal.

If her permanently cold eyes and readiness for combat were any indication.

I had seen the same eyes in the people that were unlucky enough to be skilled in the unsavory art of killing.

There was no doubt in what Neo had done before.

In fact, I would even go so far as to say simply killing animals was tame.

' _Quit staring.'_

"I-what? Yes, sorry!" I hadn't even realized and I quickly averted my eyes. It seemed I was one to get easily flustered…a trait I admittedly would rather not have.

' _Yeah, yeah.'_ Neo gave me a expression of discontent. ' _Are we leaving now?'_

I frowned and looked up at the sky. "The sun is just rising. It's around five in the morning, Neo."

' _6:17,'_ Neo felt the need to correct. ' _Time has nothing to do with anything.'_ She walked past me to pick up her estoc. Neo pulled out a handkerchief from seemingly nowhere and began to wipe the blood off the blade.

"Well...Yang isn't awake yet."

' _Oh...her. We could always ditch her.'_

"We're not going to be ditching anybody," I said. "I wouldn't ditch you and I doubt Yang would either."

Yang wouldn't...I was pretty sure.

Neo's hand stopped. ' _Sure.'_

She managed to make letters sound disbelieving.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go back."

Neo mocked a sigh. She looked around her clearing of carnage. ' _I'm not here to help you_

I blinked. "Hm?"

' _Mind your own business.'_

I rubbed my temples. Talk about high maintenance… "Let's just go."

* * *

Yang ran a hand through her hair as she looked at us with what I could only describe as a mixture of annoyance and relief.

"Seriously," she breathed. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," I said apologetically.

Yang handed me back my cloak. "Just don't do that again."

"Will do." I glanced back at Neo, who was as impassive as ever. I slung my cloak over myself.

"Where to next?" asked Yang. She frowned. "You do have a plan, right?"

"Of course." Did she expect me to not have one? "We're going back to Kuchinashi, I have an...old acquaintance."

 _'An old acquaintance?'_ Evidently I had caught Neo's attention. _'Informant?'_

It was scary how she hit the nail on the head. "Yeah."

Neo nodded in acceptance of my answer.

Yang's brows furrowed. "Informant? Like gang or secret organization?"

I sweatdropped. "Well...no, I'd say _under the radar."_

* * *

We arrived at our destination at noon. It shouldn't have taken that long but evidently Kuchinashi would change since I left. The place was also purposely small and notoriously hard to find so I suppose I should've expected so.

It didn't make me feel any less exhausted though.

"Cover up the motorcycles if you don't want them to get stolen," I advised as I jumped off.

 _'They could still be stolen,'_ said Neo dully.

"Less of a chance," I corrected.

Yang looked around. She quickly stole a cover from another vehicle and threw it on her beloved Bumblebee.

Neo looked up and down the building we parked in front of. It was dull grey, the only illumination came from the glossy door that lead to inside. In small letters on top of the door was: 'The End Curve'.

I pulled a cover from the old appliances that lined the street and threw it over Taiyang's bike. Admittedly, I would rather not be the one to tell him we had lost his bike on our journey.

 _'...not bad, not bad,'_ Neo wrote.

Yang frowned. "Looks like third class to me."

 _'Not everybody advertises their bars like Junior,'_ Neo added snidely.

"What? How did you-"

"Shall we then, ladies?" I said quickly, opening the door for them.

Neo waltzed in. Yang following still with a 'what the heck' expression on her face. I took my first steps into 'The End Curve' and nostalgia suddenly washed over me like a wave.

The door shut close behind me. It still had the same creak and the same baritone ring to it. The corridor still lead to a small, lightly lit bar. As claustrophobic as it had always been.

And it still had that old musky smell of alchohol and rust.

...I thought I was done.

"It _is_ a third rate bar," said Yang, unimpressed.

Neo rolled her eyes.

We walked into the tiny bar. It was empty except for the bartender, a middle-aged man with messy black hair, was new.

My stomachs began to knot in worry. What if everything had changed? What if the hierarchy was different? What if the code had been replaced?

Well, I suppose I had to try.

At the very least, the counter was still the same. Alcohol stands still lined the walls behind it and they were made of the same material as four years ago, dark brown wood.

I beckoned for Neo and Yang to sit at the table in the far right corner of the room. I followed suit, sitting on Neo's side. The seat creaked from the pressure. Yang shifted uncomfortably, causing more creaks. I eyed the lit candle in the middle of the table and waited.

Yang started to pull the candle to her side of the table. If I were to guess, it was partly with me in mind and partly as she was growing bored. Nonetheless, I appreciated it.

Neo began drumming her fingers on the wooden table.

After what seemed like an eternity, the lone bartender came to our table.

"What can I do for you?" he asked gruffly, looking very annoyed by our presence. He held a note pad in his hand and a pen in the other hand.

"Well-" started Yang, a finger in the air.

"A kamikaze," I interrupted. "With a pink umbrella...for all three of us."

The bartender pocketed his pen and pad. "Newcomers?"

"No. We know our way." At the very least, I could sound confident.

The bartender scanned all three of us. His expression was still skeptical but he nodded. "Very well. Follow me."

Yang sent me a quizzical glance. I tilted my head in what I hoped conveyed a 'later' expression.

The bartender lead us to the back of the counter. He pushed aside a stand. As the stand moved, a corridor revealed itself. A red curtain concealed our view into what lay beyond, but it failed to hide the blaring disco music.

At the very least, I knew that the taste in music hadn't change.

Two men stood on either side of the red curtain. They both wore extravagant suits and dark sunglasses and especially wasted no time concealing their weapons, standard machete guns.

The bartender walked up to the men and exchanged hushed whispers with them. He glanced back at us every few words.

"What is this?" Yang whispered to me.

"Just watch," I said distractedly. I still felt as I was in a daze. I was returning to a place I long thought I would never have to go to again. A place I had in all intent left forever. Just as how I'd decided to leave my parents forever...except I was coming back and except I _could_ come back.

The bartender beckoned us into the corridor. He nearly pushed us through the curtains.

"Behave," he warned as we entered without him.

Then I suppose he didn't have much of a choice in his job. He was bounded to this place just as I once was.

"What. The. _Hell."_ Yang's mouth nearly dropped upon entrance. " _What."_

Even Neo looked a little shocked.

I couldn't blame them. 'The End Curve' was truly the end to end all bars, secret or otherwise.

What they saw was the real deal. A giant palace of red and gold that spammed three floors and all of the building. While the red and gold may look a little flashy, the secret club was anything but. It was still morbidly dark, except the lighting this time was of an array of flashing colors. Dark wooden tables of considerably higher qualities than outside lined the perimeter. The open space belonged to those that would rather stand than sit and it also made a wonderful place for auctions. At the very end of the first floor was the sprawling bar, which I would calculate took up of the space. The second and third floor also had similar bars, though much smaller. Speaking of second and third floors, they were visible on the first floor, seeing as they only encompassed the perimeter of the first floor. Railings lined the third and second floor as to avoid unfortunate incidents...not that they stop those unfortunate incidents from happening half the time.

I always found it incredibly grating that here, on the first, second, and third floor was a metropolis of wealth found nowhere else in Kuchinashi yet on the fourth floor, the workers made their home in degrading conditions of filth.

"Neo, Yang," I said. "Welcome to the _real_ End Curve."

' _How the fuck do you know about this?'_ asked Neo. ' _This is the infamous Kuchinashi black market isn't it?'_

"Yes." I pushed Neo and Yang to the side. Standing right in front of the entrance was bound to catch unwanted attention. Though perhaps I should've thought of where we'd end, as we settled next to the Mercenary Board. Heavily armed men and women surrounded the board, clearly interested in finding a job to last them.

' _You didn't answer my first question.'_

"I…" I motioned for them to follow as I walked away. From the corner of my eyes, I could've sworn I saw Neo grab a paper from the board. Well, it hardly mattered. Neo was free to do whatever she wanted. Frankly, it was a miracle she even stayed with me this long, other motives or otherwise.

"The black market here isn't that hard to find," I said, passing by a bidding exhibit of what looked like a freakish monkey. "Especially considering the sheer amount of people already aware of its existence."

Neo looked a little miffed by my comment. ' _Me and….Roman spent years looking for it and you just happened to stumble onto its grounds?'_

"No." I glanced up at the ceiling. "They needed people like me and I delivered." _In more ways than one._

"What the hell did you keep from us at Beacon?" asked Yang. She seemed disgruntled. "Crap, it's like you have some dark past like...Blake."

My brows furrowed. "Hm?"

' _The White Fang catgirl,'_ supplied Neo.

" _Former,"_ corrected Yang coldly.

Blake was in the White Fang? Well, I suppose she didn't ever seem to like talking about her past much...or at all.

"Gee, it'd be great if people would stop keeping secrets. All. The Time," remarked Yang drily, sounding genuinely frustrated.

I winced. "Perhaps some things are better kept in the dark."

Speaking of which… "Neo, Yang, let me handle this."

I tapped on the shoulder of one of the people sitting at the bar. I finally found him.

The grey haired faunus whirled around, nearly leaping out of his seat. His yellow eyes scanned me and then Neo and Yang. "Who the hell are you people?" he growled.

...of course he wouldn't recognize me. A part of me had been hoping but it was just nonsensical wishing. No one could recognize Pyrrha Nikos anymore.

"Fenris Amber, I come to negotiate for information," I said.

"Oh? You know who I am then, little lady." He didn't phrase his sentence like a question, he never did. Fenris didn't do questions. Hiss wolf tail wagged around lazily, an intimidation tactic. "Well then, take a seat." He motioned to the empty seats next to him.

I did as told and Neo and Yang followed suit.

"So…" Fenris gulped down a shot. "What can I do for you?"

He was still the same after four years, though perhaps he had grown his hair out more. Hard to tell considering his hair had always been long. But...being on the receiving end of his customer tactics came as a new, an unsettling new.

"We need information on the Branwen Tribe."

Fenris stopped with one hand already stretching out for another shot. "You don't say...that's gonna cost you, little lady."

I closed my eyes to resist telling him my name. Fenris was an information broker first and foremost, he was purposely using 'little lady' to annoy me, he told me the tactic himself. Ironic.

"How much?"

"Eh...what are you looking for?"

I paused. "Just the location would be fine."

"Hm….the Branwen Tribe is home to many dangerous bandits. I could tell you…"

 _For a price.._

"For a price."

"No, that would be fine," I said shortly.

Fenris held up a hand. "Let me think…" His eyes glowed. "Let's say half a million lien, shall we?"

" _What?!"_ Yang exclaimed. "T-that's crazy!"

' _BS, not worth it.'_

Fenris shrugged. "Half that upfront."

"The Branwen Tribe location isn't worth half a million," I said. "Maybe a thousand at the most."

But…

"I never lie about my prices. That's my business practice, " said Fenris and I couldn't deny it. "Maybe a few months ago, the prices wouldn't be so high...but thanks to _recent changes,_ well, wrong place, wrong time."

He suddenly winked. "Want a drink? On me."

"No," I immediately said. I put my hand on my face in frustration. Considering my now very much empty wallet, Neo's similarly empty wallet, and what I assume Taiyang would let Yang hold...I'm not even sure we could pay a thousand. Fenris likely wouldn't budge on his numbers either...I wasn't so confident in my skills to say I'd be able to dig up half a million in any short span of time.

I didn't know any other options and running around Mistral trying to find the Tribe would be about as useful as running around trying to find my team. Even if I said I was his old favourite thief, Fenris wasn't one to do favors for people he knew.

We were effectively stuck.

' _Any exchange of information?'_ asked Neo. ' _Any tasks we could do?'_

"You don't strike me as particularly valuable people," said Fenris and thank goodness for small wonders. "I see three well-fed huntsmen-in-training with too much information on their hands."

Neo managed to sit still even as a vein angrily pulsed on her forehead.

" _But-_ that's going to be exactly why I'm giving you this opportunity," said Fenris. Then he waited.

I caved in. "...what opportunity?"

Fenris grinned. "You're huntresses right? Just need some errands done."

Neo came dangerously close to twitching.

"Errands?" asked Yang.

"Ever heard of Menagerie?"

Just four words and I already knew I couldn't say 'no'.

* * *

 **A/N : HELLLOOOOOOOO! IM BACK! This chapter ended up being way long than it should've been so yeah. Not to mention I'm currently trying to work up a new schedule that _doesn't_ work me to death.**

 **This will probably be bi-weekly, so see ya all in two weeks if all goes planned!**

 **Beta: Bro**

* * *

 **End Credits**

Yang was back in the same place she went to every night. The dark red landscape of burning fires and _him._ She didn't even know who he was. She just knew he was the person _that was responsible for everything._

If he wasn't there, Blake _might not have left._

If he wasn't there, she _wouldn't be messed up._

She'd be like before. Like the sun.

Not anymore.

He made her feel cold and small.

He made Yang _scared. Terrified._

Now she's been trying to hit him.

But it never worked.

It was the same thing repeated again and again. She would run at him, her fists ready.

Her punch would be connecting-

Then her arm was gone and he was pass her.

She'd collapse to the ground, _helpless_ and _frozen._

Over and over again, like a never ending cycle.

He was there again, he always was. So she tried to hit him-and failed, like always.

 _She was never good enough._ She fell to the ground, shaking.

Then the dream changed.

She was six again, on Patch, and she felt safe. There was a cloak warming her. It was the whitest cloak she'd ever seen. _She knew this cloak._

So she looked up _because she knew who was supposed to be looking down at her with a smile. Always a smile._

There was a figure, but she couldn't see the face. She knew it was her but she couldn't get the details. Then she felt the wind blow against her and the cloak burst into white roses. The figure quickly followed, with a soft smile.

 _STOP LEAVING ME!_

Then she woke with a start, gasping for breath.

There was a white cloak warming her and she nearly lost it.

Wait-this was Pyrrha's cloak wasn't it? Right...Yang let out a breath. Pyrrha, who came back from the dead. Pyrrha, who looked like an exact copy of Summer Rose in that Team STRQ picture. Pyrrha, who Yang couldn't help but listen to because she had the _same voice and tone_ as Summer Rose, who Yang thought as her mother and still did to a degree. Pyrrha, who was almost painful to look at because she looked like _Summer who left Yang_ and who could be mistakened as _Ruby who Yang misses so much._

Yang sat up, carefully taking off the cloak and bundling it. Right, she had to give it back to Pyrrha- _where was Pyrrha? And If anything-where was Neo too?_

She scanned all of her surroundings but couldn't find the former Mistral Champion. Yang's heart started to race.

 _No, no, no-not again. NOT AGAIN._

She jumped to the ground, eyes frantically searching for anything-

Her blood had ran ice cold. She scanned the area again.

 _No, no, no-_

Her mind flashed back to the Fall of Beacon, when she woke up completely alone-

Leaves crunching stopped Yang's train of thought.

A few seconds later revealed Pyrrha, without her cloak for once, followed by Neo.

Yang nearly jumped onto Pyrrha and probably would've strangled her if she did. Instead, she put on the mask of a calm composure and ran a hand through her hair.

"Seriously," she breathed. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," said Pyrrha, sounding genuinely apologetic. She always did, she was like that...even though it felt like Yang barely knew her with how much that she learned everyday about Pyrrha Nikos….which actually probably wasn't even her real name.

Yang handed Pyrrha her cloak, which looked like an exact replica of Summer's cloak. "Just don't do that again."

"Will do," said Pyrrha and Yang could only take her word for it.

But...it was better than nothing at the very least.

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **grifman275: Yuuuuup! And I think Raven's semblance is to the soul, seeing as semblances are manefestations of the soul, that'd make more sense.**

 **meeyaaaargh3412: here ya go! And who said Pyrrha was her real first name?**

 **merendinoemilliano: :)**

 **TacoKing23: Interesting is my aim!**

 **Mindless Violence Fan: While ur username may be a tad bit worrying, I'm glad u like the story so much and hope u keep on reading it! :) And also, Pyrrha has her own semblance right now.**

 **Skittertale: yup**

 **TM Calypso: Well, all the characters have to meet eventually... (*wink* *wink*)**

* * *

 **If ya ever need me, I'm ArosCao_ARC on twitter!**

 **Plz review, favorite, and follow, keeps the motivation up and stuff! Tata!**


	13. Chp XII: Navigation

**Chp XII: Navigation**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is not my property.**

 **"/Please understand that the life we once planned out is over/" ~ 'This Time' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"So…Menagerie?" said Yang. She kicked at the ground.

We waited at Kuchinashi's only port. Neo was pouting, her arms crossed and legs crossed as she sat on an iron bench. That couldn't be comfortable. I walked in circles, trying to think up of a way to get to and from Menagerie as soon as possible. Fenris loved to throw people in loops, to make them tired and desperate enough to pay the fee. I was also almost certain he just enjoyed it. And to think he was my semi-role model once upon a time.

' _Yes, Menagerie.'_ Neo somehow managed to write sarcastically. ' _I didn't realize you were deaf.'_

"Ugh! Why are you such a stuck-up!?" Yang stopped her kicking and turned to glare at Neo.

Neo stuck out her tongue.

I pinched my nose and sighed. Just... _sigh._

"I just wanted to know about Menagerie," Yang grumbled. "Menagerie...it's where most of the faunus live right?"

' _Surprise! Yang Xiao-Long actually knows her history!'_

"Can I just punch her?" asked Yang to the sky. "Just once. Just _one time."_

"Nobody is punching anyone," I said. "And no one is insulting anyone either."

I turned to Yang. "I don't think it's where most of the faunus live. I heard the population is nearly all faunus."

' _It basically IS all faunus,'_ Neo wrote. ' _If you're human, you stick out like a sore thumb.'_ She looked a little disgruntled and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"You mean more than you already do?" asked Yang.

Neo's umbrella shot out of her sleeve.

Admittedly, a part of me _did_ wonder if Neo's hair and eye colors were natural or not. I stepped in between them. "Okay…" I breathed. "It sounds like you've been there, Neo."

Neo landed her umbrella on the ground and rested her hands on it. ' _Sure, sure. Tried to steal something there once.'_

I blinked. Then the fact that Neo had been a criminal, a _very good one,_ returned to me. Oh right.

"Yeah, okay." Yang took in a few deep breaths. "What's it like there?"

' _Like a village,'_ Neo wrote dully. ' _A nice, big village. And then everywhere around it is a nice, big desert. Did I say nice? I meant horrible. It really sucks. It's sand. Just sand. Sand everywhere.'_ Neo shivered.

"Oka-ay," decided Yang. "Let's not stop by the desert."

"Agreed," I said reasonably.

A horn blew from across the port, signaling another ship leaving.

Yang frowned. "It's been hours, shouldn't that transport ship be here by now? It has passed 8:00 right?"

' _It's 11:00.'_ Neo mocked a long-suffering sign.

At night. We're in Kuchinashi, in the summer time, which meant it was hot and miserable even without the sun beaming down on us. I went back to pacing in circles. My cloak (and I wonder when I had started referring to it as 'my' cloak) had been tied around my waist to stop myself from suffocating in my own sweat. I didn't know how Yang did it with her leather coat. Maybe she just reminded herself that it looked amazingly cool on her and dealt with it. Sounded like something Yang would do.

But Yang was right. The transport ship _should've been here a long time ago._

I sighed. "It looks like the ship won't be coming anytime soon."

"What, so are we trying tomorrow?" Yang looked rightfully frustrated. She ran a hand through her hair.

"No...if it won't show up today, it might not tomorrow." I fidgeted with my cloak. "I really hate suggesting this…"

' _Just spit it out,'_ wrote Neo.

"We _might_ need to take a ship...illegally." With every day back in Kuchinashi, I felt myself resort back to my old skills. I'm scared that if I stay for too long, I might turn back into that street-rat I wanted to erase from my past. Maybe that was why I was so eager to leave. One last underhanded tactic and I can go back to being Pyrrha the Goody Two Shoes as someone had once said to me.

' _Now you're speaking my language.'_ Neo stood up and twirled her umbrella.

I looked back out at the dock. Maybe the transport ship had been attacked. Maybe it had simply decided that Kuchinashi wasn't worth it (it usually wasn't, most people couldn't afford to leave). Whatever it was, we couldn't afford to try again over and over again. Fenris didn't forget to put in a deadline. We had a week to deliver his package to the address (and the week had been an _extended_ deadline).

"Great," said Yang with a deadpan expression. "Steal a boat. Okay, how do you steal a boat?"

"Well-" I started.

Neo grinned. ' _I'm glad you asked.'_

* * *

"This is a horrible idea," declared Yang. She was somehow the voice of reason, which was a horrible sign.

Kuchinashi's port was a complete mess, it was _always_ a complete mess. Barring the rusty metal, the dirty garbage, and the polluted water, supply boxes were scattered throughout it, waiting for delivery that would probably never come. Flickering and dim street lights illuminated the dock, not that it did much.

We edged along a particular line of supply boxes that were labeled ' _FRAGILE'_ in big bold letters just to put me on edge. Our target was a small industrial ship, about the size of a yacht.

' _Unless you have any brighter ideas, Blondie.'_

Yang gritted her teeth. Either at the comment, the nickname, or both, I didn't know.

"Yang," I said. "I'm not happy about doing this either, but, suffice to say, we don't have much of a choice."

"I know…" said Yang. "This is so _stupid-"_

Neo stopped us at a corner. She looked around.

Yang continued whispering. "I was kind of hoping for, I dunno, less of this stuff when I got back on my feet. Y'know, be over with clubs and stuff."

"I can-" I frowned. "Did you just say you were in clubs?"

"That's what you got out of my sentence?" Yang did not look impressed.

"No-I mean, it's none of my business, really." _It felt like my business. That's stupid, Pyrrha._ "I understand...It's not as if I wanted to come back here."

"Hm."

' _Sailors are gone.'_ Neo didn't wait to dart across the port towards the dock.

Yang and I quickly followed. Neo ran onto the dock and jumped into the ship. I turned back to make sure the sailors haven't noticed anything. Yang climbed into the ship after Neo.

"Hey!" The ship's rightful owners had turned to see us raiding their ship.

"...shit," said Yang. " _Pyrrha!"_

The sailors pulled black boxes off their back, which transformed into guns. They aimed their weapons.

"Get the motorcycles and give me a second," I muttered. I held out my hands and pushed... _a little too hard._ The sailors' weapons were blown out of their hands, clattering onto the ground feets away. The street lights fizzled out and bent in one direction. Some of the boxes, especially the ' _FRAGILE'_ boxes were thrown back or on their side.

I staggered back. A scorching pain ran through my head. My vision started swirling.

Hm. I think I overdid it.

"Woah," I heard Yang said. "Crap, I'm getting her!"

I felt Yang dragged me onto the ship.

"Someone call a huntsman or something!"

"That was crazy!"

"Neo, can you drive? ...then go! We can worry about the motorcycles later!"

The engines revved to life. Then I felt it burst out of the dock.

My vision kept on going off and on. I managed to sit up and lean on a steel wall. Something was definitely off with me. This had never happened before. Even in the-the Fall, I had never had an attack from my semblance. _I_ _made a makeshift elevator and rode it for god's sake!_ Maybe _re-living_ had something to do with it.

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha!" Yang shook me. "Gah, I think she's going out again!"

 _Oh. Right, I faint a lot these days._

"Wait-so you have no idea where we're going?" Yang turned her head. "That's _just_ great."

...that wasn't good.

I fell asleep.

* * *

 _I was back in 'The End Curve', on the third floor. I leaned over the railings. The first floor looked as it always did, with a large bar and a wide range of shady people._

" _Come this way."_

 _I froze. I knew that voice. I just heard it this morning. My body turned by its own accord._

 _Fenris looked younger than he did the last time I saw him. His wrinkles were gone and his hair was practically a mane in comparison to the shoulder-length spiky hair he sported now. He had a hand on-on a child version of_ me.

 _I remember this._

 _Seeing myself, even if I_ know _this is just a dream (and I made sure to remind myself that), could only unnerve me. I looked small and fragile, my red hair (and if I remembered correctly, something I hated. I miss it now) dirty with dust and mud. I wore a shoddy shawl and rubbish pants. My green eyes were wide and strangely innocent, only a half-faux. An apt description would be that I looked as if I could be a dog from the streets. If I remember correctly, I would be around seven or so then, with a couple of years worth of experience on the streets._

 _Fenris and my younger self passed me. They showed no signs of recognition. Maybe I still looked like someone else. Maybe now, even in a dream, I wasn't_ me _anymore._

 _I didn't like that thought, so I held up a hand. It was definitely_ my _hand, with_ my _armor. My eyes watered a little. I looked back at Fenris. They were going towards a door at the end of the room. I knew what was after that door. Ladders. And I knew what was up the ladders. The fourth floor, for those under the service of the club. Most people can never leave after they entered. I was grateful everyday-and dejected. It wasn't fair to the others that my semblance was good (more than good) for what I did and when I left, I thought I could come back for them one day. Then it felt like a faraway dream and I tried not to think about it._

 _Now I can't help_ but _think about it. I was there and I did nothing. I was too occupied with my goal, I hadn't even considered it. A knot tied in my stomach._

 _I'll go back. After all this is over and I find my team. (Something whispered to me that that was a pathetic excuse, and I know if I listen to it, I'll know it's probably right, so I don't)._

 _I started following Fenris and me (she felt more like a stranger, honestly). Maybe that was why I was sorting through a memory and not a true dream. Fenris opened the door for the younger me, who walked into it with only a single moment of hesitation._

 _Do I regret that choice? ...it's complicated. And I know everything is complicated but this_ is _complicated. I did and experienced so many things I regret there but-without the 'backing' of 'The End Curve' I don't think I would have been able to secure a fake transcript for Sanctum and then I would have never even dreamed of going to a true Huntsmen Academy._

 _Fenris closed the door behind him and my walking sped up. I stopped at the door. My hand reached up to turn the door knob. I felt something feather light touch my foot. I looked down. It was a white rose petal._

 _My mind flashed back to the dream I had in the Xiao-Long/Rose household. The woman in the mirror…_

 _I had a choice. The door or the petal. Another petal flew past me and landed on the door. It fluttered to the floor. Looking into the past...won't accomplish anything._

 _I turned around._

 _There she was. Her hood stayed on her head, but her silver eyes still shined through. And she looked just like what I looked like now. The resemblance was uncanny. Too uncanny, like one of us was a imitation of the other. And a bad one at that._

 _I don't know what to do, so I stood there. Could something in a memory/dream talk?_

" _What are you?" I asked because that was probably the most important thing I needed to know. Was it a figment of my imagination? A faux shadow I hold in my subconscious? Maybe a dark side like those common in stories…_

" _..."_

 _No answer. Unnerving. Or maybe I was just creeping myself out. And overreacting._

 _A group of people walked through the woman. She shimmered and returned to her normal state. If she wasn't going to talk…_

 _I turned back to the door._

" _I'm sorry."_

 _I swirled back._

 _All that was left were white rose petals. They fluttered away._

 _So she_ can _talk. 'I'm sorry'? What does that mean?...and it's depressing._

 _Shaking, I opened the door and went up the ladders. I needed to clear my mind._

"This _is what you have to offer?"_

" _Show her."_

 _I arrived just in time to see my smaller self transform a rod of metal into a lockpick. It pained me to say that she probably had better control over her semblance than I did at the moment. ...embarrassing._ So _embarrassing. And scary. Very scary._

 _Why was my semblance becoming more destructive by the day?_

" _Impressive," the plump woman said. She handed Fenris a bag of coins. "Very good work."_

 _The person to become Pyrrha Nikos stared at the transaction. So innocent yet not at the same time._

* * *

I groggily woke up to the sun rising. I was almost certain it was rising at least. ...And I also woke up to the sound of very familiar arguing. This is not something a person would want to wake up too.

"Just give me the map!"

"You can't say _no._ And I don't care if you _wrote_ 'no' it's still-argh! Just give it to me!"

"See, what did I tell you? We're basically going _backwards."_

"Shut up," I muttered uncharacteristically. I rubbed my head. I still felt a little dizzy. Maybe I should avoid using my semblance for a while…

"Pyrrha? Glad you're okay. Wait-did you just tell us to shut up?"

I looked up just in time to see Neo hold up her scroll that said 'you' with an arrow pointed at Yang. I almost smirked at that one... _almost._ I try not to be a jerk when I can help it. Common courtesy is important.

Unsteadily, I got off the ground. "Thanks-where are we?"

"In the middle of nowhere!"

' _She means she got us lost.'_

"You're-"

"Okay," I said. Another argument was not necessary. "Okay...what _do_ we know?"

' _We're going to Menagerie. To deliver a package. To an address. For this stupid informant named Fenris.'_

I sweatdropped. "Just...try to concentrate on driving, will you, Neo?"

She mocked a huff.

"Do we know our general location?"

"Yeah," Yang spread out a map. She must've caught my look of 'where did that come from?' because she said: "Found it in the captain's quarters." She pointed at a blue section of the map. "Somewhere around here."

Considering that the map was one of all of Remnant, it wasn't very helpful.

Onto another concern then. "What about the motorcycles?"

"Got 'em after you passed out. They're in storage." Yang rubbed her eyes.

I noticed the dark bags underneath her eyes.

"...when was the last time you slept?" I asked.

"Um…" Yang shrugged sheepishly (and sluggishly). "Last...last night?"

No wonder she and Neo accomplished practically nothing in a span of six or so hours.

"Go take a nap," I ordered. "You too, Neo."

' _Who else can drive a ship here?'_

"It can't be _that_ hard to learn," I said.

"We need to get to Menagerie," muttered Yang. "Menagerie…"

I gently pushed her towards the door. "We're not going to get to Menagerie any faster with you dead on your feet...Neo, you too!"

' _I actually have an important thing to do.'_ Neo's typing was sluggish.

"The ship _can_ stop, you know." I watched Yang walk down the stairs. A piece of paper fluttered from her back pocket.

I turned to Neo. It would be a true waste of time if we couldn't move while she's sleeping… "Let's learn how to drive a ship."

* * *

After nearly killing all of us by smashing into a very big Rock connected to Mistral, I decided I should probably hold off on learning how to drive a ship.

' _You are terrible at piloting,'_ Neo said before throwing up overboard and walking into the ship's interior.

She was a very encouraging friend.

' _Is this yours?'_ Neo threw me a piece of paper.

I caught it. "N-no?" My blood ran cold.

Neo raised an eyebrow. I waved her away.

I sat on the floor of the ship. Now it was just me...and my thoughts. I rubbed my head.

' _I'm sorry.'_

Unnerving. Disturbing. What did this mean?

I flipped the photo. _STRQ/MOM._

I flipped back the photo again. Did Yang mean Raven or Summer? And...Summer wasn't just an uncanny resemblance. Ruby would be uncanny as well. This is- _exactly identical._ More than twins. Except for the eyes. Silver eyes. Like in the dreams.

Something was off. I knew the whole time, of course-

There's no point in thinking about it, right?

Maybe I should-maybe I should check on the map. (I know I'm avoiding what makes me scared, but I can't help it.)

I unfurled the map and found Menagerie. Then I tried to imagine where we might be. We went off Kuchinashi's port which meant we needed to pass Mistral's peninsula... _Mistral's peninsula!_

I looked up at the giant rock that nearly capsized our boat. _Peninsula._

Hm…

I looked back at the control panel.

Hm…

I'm sure I could manage it.

I walked over to the control panels and wrung my hands nervously. Why did we have to steal the one ship _without_ modern technology? It's so old...maybe even as old as the war and sadly not Atlas technology.

What did Neo said again? The wheels turned to opposite sides. You pressed the right pedal to go. The left one to stop… The levers are modes and adjustment. Okay, I can't keep all of this on track. Just remember the stop, go, and turns.

I went over and reeled in the anchor. Then I slowly pressed down on the pedal. The ship lurched forward a little, but otherwise went smoothly. Okay then...I turned the wheel. It went the wrong direction. I turned the wheel just in time to avoid another rock collision. I looked back at the door. Good, they must be lights-out. If Neo found out I was doing this…

Right, just needed to get past this strip of land.

* * *

' _What the_ hell _are you doing?'_

I turned back to see a royally angry Neo standing on deck. "Driving."

' _It's called 'piloting' and I don't want to_ die _from rookie piloting. What a shitty way to go that would be.'_

I winced at the harsh language and the barbed insult.

"I'm doing _fine._ Don't worry."-I said as I clenched the steering wheel like it was a lifeline. I've been dri- _piloting_ the boat for hours now and I had a feeling that my hands were going to be very steely when I removed them.

' _Okay!'_ Neo threw her hands in the air. ' _Okay.'_

"I figured out where we were." Good news was a great way to make someone forget bad things.

' _Really?'_ As expected, Neo cooled down.

"Over the peninsula," I said. "I managed to get pass it, so Menagerie should be straight ahead."

' _How'd you figure it out?'_

"The rock."

' _That you almost killed us on?'_

"I-yes," I muttered.

Neo pushed me off of the control panel and took command of the ship.

"I had everything under control," I whined not unlike a child.

Neo waved a dismissive hand my way.

I sat on the floor. I shook my hands, then traced the map. "I suppose I could be the navigator…"

My fingers met with the photo of Team STRQ. I glanced at Summer Rose and my mind started to wander. It couldn't be a coincidence. Coincidences like that just _didn't happen._ And the cloak. _I woke up with the same cloak._

 _Who was I? And what did Summer Rose had to do with it?_

A pebble landed at my feet. I looked up. "Why do you have a pebble?"

' _For getting people's attentions. You looked like you were going through a midlife crisis.'_

I blinked.

' _Ro...I've seen it before.'_

"And you also have 180 vision," I said drily.

' _I have to be aware at all times.'_

"Like you were when I started the ship."

' _That was from lack of sleep!'_ Neo countered indigintly.

"Which _might_ teach you to get the proper amount of sleep."

' _Shut up.'_

* * *

Yang eventually came up, with a large yawn. "Oh...hi m-Pyrrha, hi Neo. What time is it?"

Neo jumped at the informal and non-malicious greeting. Yang must still be drowsy…or perhaps I could hope that they were slowly growing on each other.

' _6:47, blondie,'_ wrote Neo.

"You dropped this." I held up Yang's photo.

"Oh...that was stupid." She quickly took the photo and gave me an indiscernible glance. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Time passes quickly, huh?" Even though we weren't discussing anything, it felt as of Yang had averted the subject. Which gave me a whiplash in all honesty. "Did we find out where we are?"

' _Even better.'_ Neo grinned. ' _Menagerie is right there.'_

I got off the floor for a better look. Yang walked to the edge of the boat. Her hair blew all over her face thanks to the wind. Maybe I should suggest a ponytail.

I squinted. A stretch of land was coming into view. It spanned my whole vision.

"That looks big," said Yang. "Why can't all the faunus stay over there... I mean, they wouldn't be segregated there, would they?"

' _Try fitting all of the faunus in the liveable part of Menagerie. That would be funny.'_ Neo mocked a snort.

"It would be true that they wouldn't be segregated though," I mused. "They wouldn't have any problems then…"

' _Let's not try to solve the world's problems and instead finish our mission.'_

" _And_ this is why you're a criminal and not a good person," said Yang drily.

Neo stuck out her tongue.

It seemed like everything was back to normal. I sighed.

* * *

"And I was so excited to see land," Yang complained. "We've been circling Menagerie for _hours_ "

' _An hour.'_

"Ugh…you weren't lying about the desert thing for sure." Yang suddenly perked up. "Hey, look- _grass._ "

She made it sound amazing. "And a _port._ "

That sounded more amazing.

Neo pulled up at the dock. I dropped down the ramp. We hurried off the boat. I was pretty certain all of us were excited to get off a stolen ship (except maybe Neo).

"Now what do we do?" asked Yang. She scratched the back of her head and looked around the port.

' _We get the address. Pyrrha?'_

I pulled the package from my belt (which I had purposely attached it to as to make sure Yang and Neo can't open it out of curiosity, which would be a disaster in the making) and looked down at the address. "Um...717 Forest Street?"

Neo started walking. Her appearance suddenly shifted and she became a violet haired cat faunus.

"Oh that is _not_ fair," muttered Yang, following behind her.

We arrived at the beginning of a giant dirt road...and were nearly run over by a group of guards. Neo twitched angrily.

"Hey!" Yang called. "What's the big emergency?" She made it sound sarcastic, clearly not very happy about almost being run over.

"We don't have time for you! The chief's house is under attack!" The guards quickly ran out of earshot.

Yang, Neo, and I looked at each other.

' _No,'_ wrote Neo, her expression deadpan. ' _This is not what we signed up for.'_

Yang's eyebrows creased. "Who would attack _Menagerie?_ That's just asking for trouble. But I guess attacking Beacon would also be asking for trouble so-" she shrugged.

"I'll ask." I hurriedly stopped a goat faunus running past us. "What's going on?"

He stared at me. "W-what? Oh-the White Fang is attacking the Belladonna's house, I know, it sounds crazy but-"

"The _White Fang?"_ Yang's breath caught in her throat. "And did you just say _Belladonna?"_

"Y-yes?"

A variety of emotions flashed passed Yang's face in a matter of moments. She turned and ran down the road in the direction the guards had gone.

Neo stared at the trail she left, then looked back at me with a shrug.

"Thanks." I nodded to the goat faunus. He quickly left the scene. "Come on!"

Neo mocked a sigh. Her umbrella shot out of her sleeve and she followed.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, so it's been a while...and I just wanna apologize for the delay and admit that I** _ **kind of**_ **suck at getting stuff done. This was also a set-up chapter so yay! See ya next time!**

 **Beta is bro.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: That's great!**

 **meeyaaargh3412: me 2. Except I have to write it.**

 **Allison Illuminated: *thumbs up***

 **grifman271: huh, I was not aware of this and I now must create an excuse in a future chapter (which is thankfully pretty easy). And wow, you just created a very dark and amazingly well thought up plan. Moi impressed.**

 **merendinoemilliano: =)**

 **EmeraldGaurdian7: Is a month soon? (I am very disapointed with myself).**

 **TacoKing23: Why not?**

 **JamCom: Getting answers is kinda the whole point so of course there will be! And I don't plan on abandoning the story soon so don't worry.**

* * *

 **If you need to yell at me or tell me something, I'm ArosCao_ARC on twitter!**

 **Please Review, Fav, and Follow and have a good day/night!**


	14. Chp XIII: Invasion

**Chp XIII: Invasion**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **/Black the beast descends from shadows/" ~ 'Red Like Roses' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

I followed Yang down the trail-or to be more accurate, I tried my best to catch up to the blonde.

Yang Xiao-Long was a fast runner.

Well, Neo wasn't having much trouble following me…

Perhaps I was just slow then? The idea was quite embarrassing.

Anyhow, I wasn't quite sure how we were possibly supposed to find the Belladonna house in the midst of all the houses that just so happened to line Menagerie.

As it turned out, it was quite the baseless worry.

I simply had to look for the biggest, grandest house in the city, at the very end of the street, far away from any other homes, surrounded by masked faunus (faunai? fauna?) and...it just lit on fire.

I stumbled to a stop. Neo slammed into me. She glowered as if to say ' _what the h-?'._

Yang reached the house, or to be more accurate, _mansion,_ and preceded to slam her fist into the nearest White Fang. Hard.

From the brutality of it, it seemed she hasn't exactly moved on from the Fall of Beacon.

The White Fang member crashed into the giant doors of the Belladonna mansion with enough force that he swung it right open.

Now that I could properly see the Belladonna mansion, I could tell that it was quite traditionally Mistralian. It has likely been here for a while then. It resembled a training dojo, with its free-form use of triangular rooftops, brown roof tiles and...wooden sidings.

Curse traditional Mistralian houses and their use of extremely flammable building materials!

And now, it seems I have developed exaggerated humour as a way to cope with my traumatic experiences.

As Nora would say, 'darn it'.

Yang continued her rage-induced rampage and charged into the mansion, taking a few White Fang remembers with her.

Neo glared at me impatiently. I had the feeling that if I didn't do anything within the next second, I was about to witness some very creative language.

"Er…" I managed. "Go on ahead of me. I have to...ready myself."

' _Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We worked on this!'_

"Neo...that's really not how phobias work. They're called irrational fears for a reason." Talking helped.

' _Fine. I'll stop blonde firecracker from blowing up the house for the White Fang herself.'_

"Thanks…"

Neo rolled her eyes. Her faunus disguise peeled off to reveal the brown and pink haired Neo in all her glory. Made sense, Neo wouldn't want to bother with keeping up a disguise and fighting at the same time. She ran towards the house.

I groaned in frustration and pinched my nose. I must look like an idiot, standing in the middle of the street as the mansion in front of me goes up in flames.

I shook my head. If I was going to face _her_ someday, I had to be prepared. This was a good way to do it.

After all, how is a person possibly going to get over their debilitating fear of fire besides running into a burning mansion?

That was bad...I dislike my bad sense of humor. But, nevertheless, I decided I've had enough stalling and ran towards the mansion.

Fire be damned, I wasn't going to let innocent people die on my watch.

Not on the watch of Pyrrha Nikos.

Yang and Neo had already dealt with most of the faunus outside of the mansion. The ones I could see were sprawled on the ground, groaning and sporting new red bruises.

Mildly, I wonder where the faunus residents were. Holed up in their homes, I'd wager.

I couldn't blame them, no one wants to get into another person's mess. Though a small part of me is annoyed by the lack of action.

As I came to the entrance of the mansion, I saw two Menagerie guards leaning on the pillars of the house. One of them had an ugly gash down his chest and the other was struggling to breath.

"Who's in there?" I asked the one with the gash. He seemed to be in more of a stable condition than the other guard.

"...a blonde and a brown and pink haired girl just passed…"

"Who else?"

"T-the Belladonnas. A-a monkey faunus. Some of the Menagerie guard. The White Fang...the Albanian and a chameleon girl, I think." The guard frowned. "Who are you?"

"A friend of the Belladonnas," I dismissed.

As I stepped into the house, my internal compass went haywire. There was no fire in the entrance hall (yet), but the smell of smoke filled the room. I gagged.

My vision flickered to...then. I ignored it. It's been months since the incident now. I've traveled an entire continent away. I'm…

I'm not going to bow down to a baseless fear!

I moved towards the sound of fighting. It wasn't hard to hear the clash of metal against metal or the sounds of firing weapons, but the shear size of the mansion meant reaching my destination was inevitably going to take a little while.

If this was truly Blake's house, what could have possibly made her turn to the White Fang? She seemed to have it pretty nice.

I ran through the hallway at the end of the entrance hall. It was large and mostly empty. Impressive or not , it's appearance was still ruined with the signs of a battle. Slashes lined the walls and flicks of blood spotted the floor.

I tried my best not to step on the blood. My guilty conscience wouldn't allow for it.

I swerved and found a flight of stairs. Without thinking too much about it, I ran up the steps. I found myself in another hallway. Honestly, how many of those are there in this mansion? I shook my head and sniffed the air for smoke. I was getting closer, but I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. The stairs had led me to a large one-way corridor lined with doors on both sides. There was no choice but to try all of the doors until I found the right one.

I started with the first door I see. It turned out to be a supply closet. I grimaced. This might just take a while.

As I go to open another door to my right, a White Fang member bursted out. He looked half-crazed and haggard, his uniform a destroyed mess. He immediately lunged at the nearest person he didn't recognize, also known as Pyrrha Nikos.

Surprised, all I could do was stumble backwards. My hood fell off, revealing my face to the White Fang member.

" _Human,"_ he hissed.

I felt a shiver down my back. The only words that could describe his expression were _pure hatred_ and it was paralyzing-but not enough that I couldn't push him back with a thrust of my hand. The White Fang's metal mask propelled him backwards and he slammed into the ground. His skull made a _crack_ sound. I cringed.

How could he tell I was a human without a doubt? Perhaps it was instinct-a sixth sense that tells you when someone is simply _different_ than you. How depressing.

And how optimistic and naive to blame the world's problems on a single race. Heh, if only things were that easy.

I let out a tired sigh and walked into the room. It would be...a very stupid complication if White Fang members suddenly ambushed me from behind because I left them in peace.

The room had evidently been a dining room in the past. _In the past,_ as most of the room had been destroyed. A table was flipped on its side and covered in dents, books littered the floors (perhaps they had been used as shields? I don't believe books could actually stop bullets…), and bodies laid motionless on the ground. A woman was tying up a White Fang member with horns.

She made a sound to herself. "Tsk."

The woman wore a black hakama with gold trims. She had short, black hair and amber eyes. Purple eyeshadow lined her eyes in a catseye style-which was fitting, because on top of her head were two large (and fluffy) cat ears.

If I had any doubts in the past that this mansion's Belladonna was the same of that of Blake Belladonna, they were shattered in an instant.

This woman was most definitely related to Blake in some way, shape, or form. I'd bet on it.

The woman's cat ears twitched and she spun around. Suddenly, I found a gun leveled at my face.

I tensed. Much to my relief, the woman was quick to her gun.

"You're not supposed to be here," she said by way of greeting. She pulled the White Fang member to a chair and began tying the faunus to a chair.

"I want to help," I said. "Er...my name is Pyrrha Nikos."

Introducing yourself is common courtesy.

The woman frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Is that a popular name…?" She looked like she was trying to place the name 'Pyrrha Nikos' somewhere in her memories.

"Well, no matter, I'm Kali Belladonna. Nice to meet you. It's a shame that my house is under attack at the moment, otherwise I'd make you tea!"

I do like tea-but that wasn't important. As Kali had said, mansion _is_ under attack. "I'm...I'm trying to find where the smoke is coming from. You wouldn't happen to have a guess?"

Kali frowned. "The meeting room or the-no, it can't be the entrance hall if you made it through. Don't go looking for trouble, dear. You'll only regret it."

 _Don't go looking for trouble, huh?_ A little late for that.

"Where's the meeting room?" I asked. "Please. I need to help in any way I can."

 _That's right. I have to help-I can't_ not. _It's my duty._

"Tsk. Children shouldn't fight adult's battles." Kali sighed. "But there's no stopping you kids is there? You're a huntress, aren't you?"

I mutely nodded. There was no time to question how she could tell I was a huntress when my weapons were still stored away under my cloak.

"In the hallway, go through the double-doors closest to the pink flowers. You'll be in another hallway. Go through any of the doors you see on the inside of the hallway and you should be in the meeting room."

"Thank you," I said. My brows furrowed. "What about you?"

Kali smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be perfectly fine." She pinched the cheek of her captured White Fang (who was still strapped to a chair).

I believed her.

"Besides, if worse comes to worse, I can always jump out of the window! Afterall-" I cringed at the signs of a- "a cat always lands on its feet!" -...bad pun.

I quickly backed out of the room. Hopefully, Yang and Kali never meet and have a discussion over tea. Ever.

Back in the hallway, I looked to my left and right for the pink flowers Kali had mentioned. The flowers were to the left, opposite of where I came from.

I wasted no time. I raced to the doors and swung them open. As Kali had said, I was in yet another hallway. I followed her instructions and opened another set of doors.

Instantly, a plume of smoke bursted out of the opening.

My eyes watered and I coughed violently. My lungs felt as if they were contracting at a speed of 100 miles a minute.

I froze. Suddenly, my head has conjured up an image of her, haunting me. She's always haunting me. I can't...I can't get rid of her!

Her skin is pale...sickly white? She has long, pitch black hair...or is it white? Her glowing amber eyes...or was it red? made me want to curl into a ball out of fear. Her distinguishing feature was the fire that came out of each of her eyes, the signals of great powers that were supposed to be in the hands of _good_ (...of _me)_. Or was it the black vines that run up her arms and face that proved her to be...? Her name was...she was…

I felt as if needles had inserted themselves into my brain. In other, more brutish, words, it hurts like hell. Two images were overlapping each other, fizzling and merging-both trying to take center as _the thing I feared the most in this world. My hardest obstacle._

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. At the very least, the confusing images allowed me to ignore _her._...even if she was getting distorted. I ran into the clearing.

"Come and get me!" Yang-it was undeniably _her_ -shouted at the top of her lungs.

I was on a balcony of some kind. It lined the wall and circled around a opening that lead to the lower floor. That floor was where I would assume the 'meeting' in meeting room happened.

I rushed to the fence and looked down.

At the current moment, it would seem that the meeting room was serving as a proxy arena for an all out brawl.

Case in point, I watched Yang punch a bat faunus in the face at such an angle that his body flew back and his head spiraled into the ground.

I winced for the faunus (though he probably deserved the pummeling-to a degree).

Meanwhile, Neo...Neo was sitting on top of a spider? faunus, looking very smug as she cleaned her fingernails and ignored the chaos going on around her.

I sighed. I was going to have to ask her about her behavior later.

Then there was a giant, dark-haired faunus fighting off two tall faunus in red robes. The faunus in red robes' appearance made them seem like they would be important members of a cult of some sort, in this case, the White Fang. Meanwhile, the dark-haired faunus wasn't wearing much of anything on the upper part of his body. His black hair and amber eyes made me think of Blake-likely a Belladonna then. Blake's father, if I had to wager.

One of the robe-wearing faunus, the one with the large pointed ears-feigned a kick, then quickly dodged as the other shot a dust bullet from a drill-like weapon. It hit its target, the maybe-Belladonna in the chest.

For his part, he ignored the shot and carried on with a slash of his arm, revealing claws where a human's fingernails would be.

A few years from him, a monkey faunus and a...human? were locked in combat.

A monkey faunus? I've seen him before...blonde (like Jaune), leaves open his shirt so the world can see his abbs, uses a staff that turned into nunchucks which also turned into shotguns.

That's right, he was the leader of a team that represented Mistral in the Vytal tournaments. What was _he_ doing here? And what was his name again…? Had something to do with the sun...

More importantly, why was he fighting a human (a human with brown hair and noticeable freckles)? He didn't seem like the type to be White Fang...then again, neither was Blake (in her case, formerly). Though what would a human be doing in Menagerie? I frowned. There wasn't time looking for answers I can't get.

Speaking of Blake, she was standing up and wincing. Her left hand was holding her side, where I assumed she had been hurt. She had gotten rid of her bow, revealing her cat ears. Blake had changed her outfit too. Now she wore a long white tailcoat over a black tank top instead of a flowery vest. Blake stared at Yang in utter...well, utter confusion, bewilderment, and fear.

I supposed it wasn't everyday that you see your former partner crash into your house and beat up your local terrorist organization. The _same_ terrorist organization that has cut off said former partner's arm.

...I really can't blame her now can I?

There were stairs on the other side of the balcony. They were too far to do me any good considering that I needed a _fast_ way to the lower floor.

So I jumped.

I landed on the ground with a grunt. Pulling out my swords, I rescanned the field. Currently, I was closest to the faunus with the red robes and the dark-haired faunus.

And Yang. Because she had just rushed towards the red-robed faunus with the fluffy tail. She let out a guttural cry and jumped into the air. Her fist was pointed straight at the faunus's face. Clearly, she underestimated him because the faunus dodged out of the way with surprising speed and turned as Yang landed. He aimed his weapon at her.

Darn...I _did not_ want to know what would happen if I tried ranged magnetism with metal already in my hands. I threw one of my swords at the faunus.

He barely managed to spin and intercept my sword with his dagger in time. The force sent his dagger flying out of his hand. It clattered to the ground.

Yang turned her head in my direction. "Better late than never?"

The faunus looked at his hand, then at me. His brows furrowed. "More complications," he muttered. "Wonderful."

He backed towards his weapon.

"Pyrrha?" Yang asked, standing up.

I nodded. "Let's do this."

I was a bit nervous. I don't believe I had ever partnered up with Yang in the past. The closest would be...running away from the Nevermore and Death Stalker, I believe. Which may as well have been a lifetime ago. Hm..considering I _had..._ left, that may not be too far off. I shook my head and focused on the situation at hand.

Yang had already taken first move, rushing into battle like she always did.

Meaning that we were going in without so much as an inkling of a plan. Improvise it is then…

I ran towards the faunus. Yang was charging towards his side while I his front, so it would be a pincer attack...sort of.

Along the way, I tugged on the metal of the sword I had thrown at the faunus. I frowned when it didn't return. I tugged harder. The sword shook as it laid on the same spot on the floor and I winced from a burst of pain in my head.

... i-it looked like I wasn't going to be using my polarity this battle.

I ignored the implications.

Yang reached the faunus just as he retrieved his weapon. She threw a punch, which he dodged.

Maybe I could use White Rose's gun form-but I don't have any ammunition left. I cursed my lack of preparations, though to be fair, we hadn't been expecting a fight.

 _You should always expect a fight._

I moved towards the faunus-who was still engaged with Yang, picking up my other sword along the way. Of course, the faunus saw me-I wasn't exactly being sneaky-and stepped out of my range, dodging Yang along the way. He finally had enough of Yang's constant punching and held up his dagger. It was already charged. So that's what he'd been waiting for…

He activated the weapon. A spiral of wind flew out of the blade, sending Yang flying. She slammed into the ground a good few feet away.

I slashed at the faunus. He dodged the first slash-and the second, but while he rebalanced himself, I connected my swords to form a lance. I didn't waste any time striking him.

"Ghhh…"

The faunus's aura flickered. He's started to get exhausted…

He swiped at me with his weapon. I grunted as I intercepted it. That was close…

Where was Yang?

I had to block another strike while I searched for Yang. She...where was she?

This time, when the hit came, I blocked it and rotated us around for a better view. Though I was nicked on the chin in the process. I grimaced-aura negating weapons were banned in most places, and for good reason...though terrorists and criminals certainly weren't one to care for regulation.

 _Clang!_ The sound of metal against metal reverberated in my ears as I went in to attack and was blocked. The faunus's weapon suddenly turned red.

I frowned. _Oh crud._

The faunus wasted no time releasing the tornado. I spun my lance in an effort to negate the wind. I was still knocked back quite a bit and almost thrown off my feet.

The wind dissipated and the first thing I noticed was a streak of blonde behind the faunus. Or it would be more accurately described as a streak of fire-Yang's hair was _literally on fire._

That was... scary.

The faunus stood no chance. Yang's fist went barreling into his stomach as he turned. He soared-there was really no other way to describe it- _he soared through the air as if he was weightless._

He flew past me and I had to steady myself with my spear. I looked back. The faunus crashed through the wall and landed somewhere in the hallway. Dust clouded the view.

I gulped involuntarily. "I...don't think that force was necessary, Yang."

I caught Yang's eyes turn from red to it's normal purple coloring. Her fist was smoking. "Eh."

"Brother!" The other red cloaked faunus exclaimed and turned. His face morphed from controlled to unbridal rage. He aimed his own drill-like dagger-it was glowing-and fired.

Literal fire burst out of the weapon.

My instincts reacted by freezing my body in place. Then I was flashing back to-

The fire was blocked by a familiar, scary umbrella with an equally scary user. I forced out a calming breath and made myself ask a stupid question.

Why was Neo's umbrella fireproof? I suppose it _was_ a weapon.

"So _now_ you help," Yang grumbled.

' _I just saved your ass and for the record, YOU told me to 'stay out of the way','_ Neo typed coolly. Her umbrella was still blocking the fire-though Yang and I had to crouch as to stay in its area-of-defense.

"Not like sitting out of the fight 'stay out of my way'! You just did that to piss me off!"

Neo shrugged.

"Er, you two," I said, pointing at the red-cloaked faunus charging in our direction now that the flames were gone. "We're _still_ fighting _."_

I readied my lance-which turned out to be unnecessary as the large savage dark-haired faunus intercepted our would-be attacker with a good kick.

For a fraction of a second, everything was scarily still (besides the fire that was slowly burning the house down-but I tried to ignore that).

Then: "STOP!"

Blake? I turned. She was looking at the monkey-faunus whose name I couldn't remember and the girl that looked human. Both of them stopped fighting, the girl pinned against a pillar by the monkey-faunus's staff, and looked at Blake with varying degrees of confusion.

Next to me, Yang tensed. She gripped her left arm.

Blake's eyes teared up. "Please…" she whispered.

Neo stepped into place next to me and plopped down on the floor. Sheathing her umbrella, she yawned loudly. My eyebrow twitched. _Please show some respect…_

I frowned. "Neo," I whispered. "Did you check if the red-cloaked faunus isn't still a threat?"

I received a blank stare.

Definitely not then. I hurried onto my foot. Then I raced to the prone body of the faunus.

Which turned out to be less prone than I would've liked. As I reached him, he rolled away and stood with impressive speed. He backed away slowly, his weapon pointed at me. I raised my spear.

Before anything could happen between us, a low rumbling caused a distraction. The faunus was the first to notice, his eyes focusing on something behind me. I kept my lance aimed at the faunus and followed his eyes.

A pillar had broke loose-the same pillar that the girl had been pinned to by the monkey-faunus. The monkey faunus easily noticed the crack and disengaged, jumping out of the way of the pillar.

Anyone with half a mind could tell that the girl wasn't going to make it. Not with how disoriented she was.

I felt the familiar urge to run into danger-to disregard my own life for someone else's. Before I knew it, I was running towards the girl.

Which was stupid, because while the girl that had no chance of jumping out of the way of the pillar, I had even less of a chance to making it there on time _and_ saving the girl. Though admittedly, I had a better chance of getting crushed with the girl.

The world suddenly disappeared. Dark, empty, pitch black. It lasted for less than a fraction of a second. Less than the time someone could snap their fingers or say 'I'.

When the world was back, I was next to the girl.

I had time to think: _what?_ before instinct took over. Grabbing the girl-who looked as surprised as I felt-, I dived out of the way of the pillar.

It crashed down behind us, sending a ploom of smoke and wood splinters our way.

I waved the dust away and looked for the girl. I found her scooting away from me as fast as humanly possible.

I was quite offended.

But alas, manners came first. "Are you alright?" I asked.

She gave a noncommittal grunt...but didn't even slow her obvious attempt at escaping from my proximity.

"Erm…" I started, fully intending to ask her what her problem with me was.

"Dad, look out!" Blake yelled. She was doing quite a lot of yelling. Unusual, considering how quiet she was in Beacon.

The dark-haired faunus started. He wasn't fast enough to dodge a blow from behind. The red-cloaked faunus hadn't wasted any time while I was busy. He stabbed his dagger into the savage-looking faunus's back.

Yang was on the red-cloaked faunus in a blink of an eye. She kicked him away from the dark-haired faunus. A black rope wrapped around the red-cloaked faunus's leg, courtesy of Blake, and tripped him. He fell on his face. For good measure, Yang stomped on him-not enough to cause any permanent damage, but more than enough to knock him unconscious and give him a concussion.

The dark-haired faunus pulled the dagger from his back. He didn't even looked fazed, as though things like this were just an average Tuesday.

Neo let out a whistle of appreciation. Apparently, she was impressed.

"Well, looks like the lot of you have things just about wrapped up around here." Kali appeared at the large main doorway, her captured victim in tow.

"Mom!" Blake ran and embraced her mother, who unceremoniously dropped the knocked out and tied up White Fang in order to return her daughter's hug.

" _What have you done?!"_ a voice rasped darkly from the hallway. The fluffy tail faunus was back on his feet. "You ruined everything…" he inhaled for dramatic effect. "EVERYTHIIIIING!"

I doubt the flair was necessary. Perhaps he was growing a little unhinged from being so soundly defeated? (They _were_ stupidly easy opponents, given the fact that they were high-level terrorists. Why so?)

The faunus pointed his dagger at collectively, everyone that was still on their feet. We tensed, with the sole exception of Neo, who was still as noncommittal as ever (which was starting to get quite grating on my nerves).

Either way, the faunus was still almost definitely going to lose. His odds were not good, which meant his stand was likely his way of saying ' _I'm not going down without a fight. I will stay true to my values to the very end.'_

Like I had.

Before he could do anything, the faunus was zapped by a sudden streak of electricity and fell down shaking. I looked in the direction of the streak. The girl-the one that had been furiously scooting away from me-was lowering her spiral sword.

"It's over…" she whispered. Then she broke down crying.

What a confusing day.

"Sir! Ma'am!" a guard appeared in the hallway, delicately stepped over the shaking form of the red-cloaked faunus. "Are you all alright?"

"Thankfully." Kali sighed.

A beat of silence. We were all suddenly acutely aware of how the mansion was slowly burning down around us.

The guard coughed. "I believe it would be...pertinent to evacuate the area immediately."

No one argued with that. I, for one, was highly motivated.

Minutes later, I found myself standing at the front gates of the mansion.

Frankly, when I heard 'evacuate the area', I had thought, 'evacuate a good few hundred feet (maybe a few miles) away from the giant, burning mansion,' I _had not_ thought 'move from the meeting room to the front entrance of the giant, burning mansion.'

Alas, as it were, apparently the world had it in store for me.

As soon as we got out of the mansion, guards rushed up and tied up the White Fang members we had brought out of the house with us (minus Kali's prisoner, who was already thoroughly tied up). A group of them ran into the house to look for any more stragglers. One of them, probably the captain, rushed to Blake's Dad and gave him the run down of the situation. I didn't listen, too busy practically collapsing onto the ground out of a combination of mental and physical exhaustion. I wasn't the only one, the monkey-faunus and the girl were quick to do the same. Yang leaned on the wooden wall of the mansion, arms crossed. She twitched in response to whatever Neo was showing her on her scroll. Neo wiggled an eyebrow. I'm not sure if I wanted to know what they were discussing...which was compounded when Yang released an impressive wave of killing intent.

Blake was looking over the _crowd of faunus_ who had suddenly and mysteriously appeared in front of the house. I was dumbfounded. Just where in the world had _they_ come from? Where had they been when the Belladonna Mansion was under attack? And most of all, if they hadn't bothered to help during the attack, why did they decide to appear when the mansion was _still on fire_ and _still held White Fang members?_

I wanted to bang my head against something.

Then Blake sighed and walked down the steps. She started talking to the crowd.

I found this distinctly un-Blake-like and by Yang's surprised reaction, she had a similar line of thought.

She had grown then. Grown and changed in the time I had been gone. Like Yang had. Had everyone I knew changed? In a way, leaving me behind?

Tsk, what did I expect? It should've been expected.

...which doesn't stop it from hurting nonetheless.

In my self-pity, I had missed most of Blake's speech. It must have been very impressive, because after the girl from the meeting room said 'I'll stand with you!' to the resistance of the guard captain for some reason, a domino effect rippled through the crowd and suddenly they were all rallying to join Blake in her journey to stop the White Fang from destroying Haven Academy.

...wait, what?

My brain did a quick back-reel. Apparently, someone named Adam Taurus was attacking Haven?

I turned up a blank on a few crucial things, such as but not limited to: why, how, when, who, and (still) what?

They weren't answered when the monkey-faunus joined Blake, nor were they answered when Blake's Dad said that they had about two weeks time before the attack and that they had to arm and train civilians within that time (which sounded like a horrible idea, I might add),, _nor_ were they answered when Kali said that they would need transportation.

Essentially, it felt as if everyone was going a hundred miles an hour except me.

This day is too confusing!

Then Blake said that she knew a ship who owed them a favor.

Which sounded...familiar?

While I was desperately trying to get my head around everything, the crowd dissipated with a new buzzing energy about them and the guards took the White Fang away, presumably to the nearest place with bars. Some firemen finally came to put the fire out as well.

Which left the monkey-faunus, the girl from the meeting room, Neo, Yang, the Belladonnas, and me all in one place without any of the usual bothersome distractions such as the White Fang, a burning mansion, or a bunch of rather useless faunus.

Awkwardness practically radiated from Yang and Blake, who were trying to juggle the rather difficult task of avoiding each other and staring at each other at the same time.

Blake's parents did not 'catch the memo' as they say.

Kali gave Yang, Neo, and I a beaming smile. "I certainly wasn't expecting help from some traveling huntresses-in-training!"

Neo twitched at the 'huntresses' part. Yang twitched at the 'in training' part.

"You're welcome to stay in Menagerie for as long as you want," continued Kali, oblivious. "I would invite you into my house, but as you can see, it's in bad shape at the moment."

"We always have the vacation home, dear," Blake's Dad reminded Kali.

"You...have a vacation home," Yang said in disbelief. This time, she didn't bother trying to hide staring at Blake.

Blake made an uncomfortable noise in the back of her throat.

"Whaaaaat," monkey-faunus emoted, but he took care to stay away from Blake and Yang in a way that suggested he was scared the two of them might explode if not handled carefully. I could relate.

Kali swatted Blake's Dad in the arm. "We don't _use_ the vacation home, we haven't in _years."_

"Do you see any other options?" Blake's Dad pointed out.

"...no." Kali pouted. I was under the impression that grown, fully matured woman didn't, and couldn't, pout. I was wrong.

Kali sighed. "Well, alright then. Vacation home it is. I said you three were welcome to stay in Menagerie as long as you want...so if you need a place to stay-"

Before I could say 'we couldn't possibly be a bother', Neo, who had probably predicted my course of action, had written 'YES' and shoved her scroll in Kali's face.

I nearly fainted from the disrespect.

"You. Are. Adorable!" Kali practically squealed, missing how Neo positively _fumed_ at the statement (and how Yang and Blake simultaneously shivered). "If that's settled, it's time for introductions!"

Blake's Dad stood to the side. He wore an amused look on his face as he watched his wife become a complete socializing war machine.

Then Kali put her hands on Blake's shoulder-quite literally the only person Yang, Neo, and I _didn't_ need an introduction to. "This is Blake, my daughter."

Neo giggled. She couldn't contain herself and blew up in full-blown laughter. Yang gave her a murderous look.

Kali frowned. "Am I missing something?"

"Um...mom?" said Blake.

"Yes?"

"She's…" Blake pointed at Yang nervously, "...one of my teammates...my partner, actually."

Kali blinked. Then she blinked again. Suddenly, Blake's Dad was interested in Yang.

Neo's laughter only grew louder.

"The blonde one with the puns and big chest who likes punching people?" Kali asked. Her voice was unnaturally innocent.

"SUN!" Blake's look could scorch the Earth itself.

"Whoops, haha...sorry?" the monkey-faunus scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

Neo was practically rolling on the floor now.

Yang radiated killing intent. She was also definitely blushing.

"...I haven't made a pun in a long time," she finally said.

"I like her better than the monkey," Blake's Dad declared.

"Dude!"

Meanwhile, the girl from the meeting room rubbed her arm awkwardly. She stood away from everyone else. Antisocial?

Hm...I didn't quite understand the dynamic here. She and Sun had been fighting back in the meeting room, but seen on fine terms now. For lack of better wording, 'what gives?'

Kali grinned at Blake and Yang. "Looks like the two of you have some catching up to do. And you'll have plenty of time on the walk to the vacation home."

Kali's utter confidence and positivity showed that Blake probably hadn't filled her parents in _completely_ or _at all_ during the time she'd spent with them.

Blake coughed, a mixture of awkward and nervous.

Yang turned uncharacteristically quiet.

The two of them avoided eye contact.

I had a feeling this was going to be a long walk.

Neo was _still_ laughing.

* * *

 **Blake**

When Corsica Albain suddenly crashed through the wall and into the meeting room, Blake half-expected her Dad or even Sun to be responsible.

She _did not in a million worlds_ expect _Yang Xiao-Long_ of all people to appear out of the newly formed giant gap in the wall.

Blake's mind sputtered to a stop.

 _What?_

She felt her stomach lurch, then drop from sudden pain and anxiety.

Yang stood in the hole momentarily. Blake could've sworn the blonde stared at her for a split-second, then it was gone and she was seemingly surveying everything in the room _but_ Blake.

Everything became even more confusing when an associate of Roman Torchwick, Neopolitan, if Blake remembered right, showed up strangling a White Fang member. She was just as tiny as Blake remembered.

What's more, _Neopolitan and Yang weren't trying to rip out each other's throat._ In fact, _they seemed to be working together_ seeing as they were right next to each other.

Blake wasn't sure what to make of that. She didn't want to think about a few of the conclusions she could reach.

"Stay out of my way," Yang said to Neopolitan (nothing Blake couldn't pick up, she _did_ have cat ears). "I get violent."

Neopolitan shrugged. Something seemed to suddenly occur to her and her mouth formed a devilish grin.

Yang frowned and narrowed her eyes at the miniature woman.

Then the room erupted into chaos with the arrival of Fennec Albain, White Fang grunts, her Dad, and Sun in a flurry of attacks, dodges, and blocks.

Which left Blake blissfully occupied with the situation at hand and not the (newly armless) teammate she had run away from.

Distracted, Blake left Ilia open to shove her off. The chameleon faunus kicked her into a chair. Blake saw stars for a moment and when she regained consciousness, Sun had engaged Ilia in combat.

Things were moving too fast. She needed-needed... _wanted_ to get out of the situation and _run_ again. No...not again. Never again, not after what happened with Yang.

Blake got up. She winced and covered her side. Ilia kicked hard.

Ilia and Sun were still fighting. Her Dad took on both Fennec and Corsac at the same time. Neopolitan...wasn't doing much of anything. She sat on a White Fang member (notably _not_ the one she had strangled) with an exaggeratedly smug expression on her face. Yang delivered a particularly harsh punch into the face of a White Fang member. Her gauntlet was left smoking afterward.

Was she always that violent?

Okay…Blake closed her eyes. She could work with this. The only person she _didn't_ particularly know too well was busy examining her nails and sitting on someone. Blake already knew how every other person in the room fought. Her best chance was probably dealing with Ilia. The poor girl was at fate-determining crossroads like she had been. Maybe Blake could push Ilia into choosing the right path. She _wanted_ to. Badly. In a way, it would be reflective and atone for some of her many, _many_ mistakes.

Then Blake opened her eyes and saw a flurry of white. She blinked.

 _Huh?_

Her brain quickly processed what she was seeing. Not a flurry of white, someone in a _white cloak._ Who had jumped off the balcony.

The person stood up and Blake got a clear look of their- _her_ face.

Blake's first thought was: _Ruby?_

But the girl's eyes were a bright green. Not Ruby's unusual silver. Upon closer inspection, she clearly wasn't Ruby. Her hair was too red and her face wasn't nearly as round.

The girl was taller and older too, unless Blake's memories were playing tricks on her.

Then the girl pulled out her weapons, two red and white swords. Any doubts that the girl was someone else were quickly blown away.

Blake may not have spent as much time with Ruby or know her better than Yang, or Weiss, if she was honest with herself, but even Blake knew that Ruby would _never_ replace her precious Crescent Rose. No matter what.

But the eerie resemblance to Ruby was still uncanny. Blake had half a mind to think Yang didn't tell her about another sister. She suppose it would be fair, Blake hid far bigger secrets from Yang (that she had a feeling she was going to dearly pay for in the near future).

Yang surged onto Corsac and the girl threw one of her swords to distract him.

Blake didn't see the rest of their fight. She was too preoccupied with her own problems. Namely, Sun and Ilia.

When the pillar came down, Blake had thought the worst. _No,_ her mind had repeated. _No, no, no, no._

It was like Yang all over again. She couldn't do anything, just stand there as someone got hurt because of _her actions._ Blake was always watching people get hurt, but not doing anything. Or worse, running away. In that way and many others, she was a horrible person. She _never took action when the world needed it._

Then the girl from before, the one that looked like Ruby was suddenly _there._

Blake could've sworn she saw white rose petals appear with the girl. One second she was practically on the other side of the room, the next she was below the pillar and throwing herself and Ilia out of the way.

Blake let out the breath she was holding. Blood was still pumping in her ears and her heart was still going a million miles an hour, but she felt a large weight lift itself off her.

And she hated herself for it.

Because she should've been the one trying to save Ilia.

Then she turned her head and saw Yang with a haunted look on her face and her Dad-

"Dad, look out!"

After her (mentally exhausting but worth it) speech to the faunus of Menagerie, Blake found herself in the worst, most awkward, most anxious, most despairing position she'd ever been in.

Her mom didn't help with matters.

"Looks like the two of you have some catching up to do. And you'll have plenty of time on the walk to the vacation home," her mom said cheerily, referring to Blake and Yang.

Blake found herself coughing to hide the panic attack she was having.

She mentally cursed herself for not staying so closed off with the situation with Team RWBY.

Karma was clearly a very, _very_ real thing.

Blake dreaded this 'catching up'. Which she _couldn't_ run away from because she had promised to herself and Sun she wouldn't (and Sun would probably force her into it anyways, if she had). More importantly, she owed it to Yang.

Yang...who she sincerely hoped she hadn't lost.

Who she hoped she still had a chance with.

Who was completely in the right to hate her right now and forever.

She didn't feel so good.

* * *

 **A/N: woo! Double chapter! I got a flash of super inspiration! Ahem. So it's been a while. I'm not gonna make any excuses. I was just a complete lazy ass. Then I got OFF my ass and started writing and I realized, 'hey, writing this story is really fun! I forgot how much I love putting people through suffering!' I hope I can do more updates with this lovely new mindset. Also, I kinda got more depressing stuff planned for down the line that I really really wanna write so...yeah!**

 **Also, I read this comment on a YouTube video that suggested that** _ **Adam**_ **was originally supposed to be the character that gets a redemption arc, not Ilia, but then fans of the show hated him for cutting off Yang's arm and Miles and Kerry switched gears and basically in-canon bashed him.**

 **I mean, if you think about it, he actually wasn't all that bad in the first two volumes. He had Blake's back in the Black Trailer and let Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald into camp to discuss plans (and didn't kill them after he said no). Blake also described him as a mentor and partner (and Monty wanted him to be that), not a crazy abusive love interest. It's interesting and I think it would've been cool. It'd get rid of the White Fang's 'generic terrorist group w/ generic bad guys' problem in a few swoop.**

 **Also, there's gonna be an Adam Short in two weeks. I'm excited. Tell me what you think!**

 **Reviewer Responses are in next chapter.**

 **Also, I'm looking for a BETA! My brother isn't great at the whole constructive criticism thing and most of his criticisms are 'this story is too sad' and 'there's not enough fighting'. He's decent at corrections though, so I keep him around. Nyahahaha.**

* * *

 **Twitter: ArosCao_ARC**

 **Reviews, Favorites, and Follows are much appreciated.**


	15. Chp XIV: Chance

**Chp XIV: Chance**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

" **/I'll risk it once again to have you near my side/Another change to let you just destroy my pride/" ~ 'All That Matters' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

Kali and Ghira had went off to talk with the population of Menagerie in preparation for Haven. Which left Blake having to lead the rest of us to the Belladonna Vacation Home.

We walked the main trail of the city. Luckily, it was night (not to mention right after the White Fang had attempted murder) and the road was mostly abandoned.

Apparently, the Belladonna Vacation Home was within walking distance of the Belladonna Mansion. I thought this fact made a vacation home quite redundant.

Neo chalked it up to the fact that Menagerie was mostly desert and if you didn't live in the main city, your life 'basically sucked' (in her words). Then she had went ahead in an attempt to eavesdrop on Blake and Yang.

Not that they were saying much. The most they've managed were awkward 'hellos' at the moment and we've been walking for a good ten minutes. Yang had also trailed far behind Blake, which left the rest of us trailing behind her in an attempt to give the two space (barring Neo, who couldn't care less).

"Ugh, I really wish they would _say_ something!" Sun complained to me. "I mean, seriously!"

"Agreed," I said, not even hesitating.

"...what's so important about...?" Ilia, the girl from the meeting room, asked. She trailed off, but it was obvious what she was referring to. Ilia walked a little behind me and Sun.

I had been introduced to Ilia by Sun. She was a chameleon faunus, which was why I had thought she was human when I first saw her. It also explained why she was so adamant about avoiding me. Human and faunus relationships were still very strained. Something I hadn't put much thought in until I was on Menagerie and surrounded by faunus.

Though apparently, Ilia had also been a loyal White Fang member until her heel-face turn in the meeting room.

I didn't know what to think about her heel-face turn. It seemed very sudden to me...but then again, aren't all side-flippings supposed to be?

Hm...I'll keep an eye on her, but give her the benefit of the doubt.

Sun slowed down and began whispering in Ilia's ear. The monkey-faunus turned out to be a very bad whisperer because I could clearly hear every word he said.

"Okay...so you know about the Huntsmen Academies, right?" Sun asked.

Ilia gave a small nod.

I decide I may as well be part of the conversation and positioned myself next to Sun. It would be best to avoid scaring off Ilia.

Ahead of us, one Blake's (cat) ears twitched. So the extra pair of ears _do_ give enhanced hearing. I had always wondered…

So Blake will be listening in on whatever Sun would say.

Fair enough? Sun _was_ talking about her.

Sun continued, either oblivious or not caring. "So yeah, long story short, after she left the White Fang, Blake joined Beacon and got put on Team RWBY."

Ilia frowned. "Why?"

I found myself pulling up a blank.

Sun must have too because he was silent for a second. "Uh...I dunno, actually."

"To do good in the world?" I suggested.

Ilia started, clearly unnerved by my presence. Then she let out a snort but didn't say anything.

I noticed Blake's ear twitch again.

Sun shrugged. "Well, whatever. So Blake's partner was Yang," he gestured at the blonde.

"I thought she was put on Team RWBY," Ilia said.

"You're assigned a partner and then put on a team of four," I explained. Technically, Beacon hadn't assigned partners (in the traditional way), but close enough. "Two sets of partners."

Which lead to me thinking about my own partner. Who I had...kissed, thrown in a locker, and then left to get myself...killed, for lack of a better world.

Ilia didn't respond. It seemed she would be ignoring me for the time being.

Which was fine at this moment, because I was feeling quite down after my explanation.

Gods... _Jaune_. I'd been trying to not think about him or Ren and Nora as to not fall down a rabbit hole of feelings, but…

I would have to face them sooner or later, as evident by Blake and Yang.

How would _my_ reunion go?

"Right," said Sun. "So they got along really well. Or I think they got along really well. From what I can tell anyways. So let's just say-"

"They got along really well," I said.

"Pyrrha knows more about them than me, so I'll take her word for it."

Sun and Blake had taken the 'she's back from the dead' thing surprisingly well. Though I was more than certain they still had questions but recognized that it wasn't the right time to ask. To seal the case for the moment, I had made Neo's scroll float into the air...then promptly dropped it on accident. Which made Neo angry and throw a very child-like fit. The scroll still worked though. It just had a crack going down it's case.

I was going to have to do more testing with my semblance later. Something was clearly very wrong with it and I couldn't ignore the problem any longer. The idea that my semblance had a problem made me physically sick and queasy. A person's semblance was the culmination of _who they were_ and was something completely unique to the user (with hereditary semblances being the exception). It proves my identity and gave me security that I was well, _me._ Without it...I didn't want to think too much about that.

"And they're not getting along really well now," Ilia said flatly.

"Yeah," Sun agreed. "You know the Fall?"

"Fall of Beacon," I clarified. 'The Fall' didn't indicate much of...anything. Then I went silent again.

Ilia shrugged. "The Vale Branch of the White Fang helped with the attack. It was all the talks around here…" Tensely, she gestured with her hand. "Here meaning the White Fang. Not Menagerie. Menagerie doesn't do anything. Or didn't, I guess."

I wondered how Ilia found herself in the White Fang. From what I've gleaned, she seemed to be a 'down-to-Remnant' type of person...as well as edgy with a serious hint of teenage angst. Not, well, not a crazy fanatic. Though she _did_ seem to have something big against humans. She's been avoiding Yang and Neo like they were the plague and I had the feeling that she was only tolerating me because she wanted to know what was going on.

Sun winced at Ilia's statement. "The White Fang's kinda the problem. Yang...lost her arm thanks to Adam Taurus."

Sun lost his jovial nature when he explained what happened to Yang. His voice became deathly quiet, contrasting with his usual loud demeanor.

Adam Taurus...wasn't he the one who was going to attack Haven in two weeks? And he's also responsible for hurting Yang?

When I thought about what happened to Yang, I became absolutely _furious._ How could someone do something so cold and cruel? If I saw him, I'd probably shoot first and ask questions later. _Much_ later.

"And Blake beat herself up for it...so she ran away, all the way back to Menagerie," continued Sun. "You know the rest and here we are. I mean, this is like the abridged abridged version, but we'd be here all day if I told you everything."

"Huh." Ilia didn't show much of an outward reaction to Sun's explanation.

Then she decided to remark: "Adam's a jerk."

I suddenly liked Ilia a lot more.

"You know him?" Sun asked. "And uh...the whole thing with him...and Blake...and, y'know."

Ilia snorted. "Wish I didn't." For some reason, she sounded melancholy.

I wondered what they were talking about. The thing with Blake and Adam?

Ilia didn't provide more information and Sun dropped the subject, leaving me out of the loop.

I suppose I knew what Ilia felt like now…

Neo was next to me.

Wait...huh?

I nearly jumped into the air. "N-Neo! Don't scare me like that!"

I was pretty sure Ilia _did_ jump into the air. Sun pulled a banana out of nowhere. When he saw that Neo wasn't a threat, he started eating the banana.

' _I_ wasn't _trying to scare you. (For once). Pay more attention,'_ Neo wrote on her newly cracked scroll (she had forced me to promise I would reimburse her at a later date, which I was quite concerned about). ' _Anyways. I hate saying this, but I need some help. I need blondie (or cat girl) to start TALKING so I can get some dirt on blondie.'_

I stared at Neo. "You can't _just_ want some dirt on Yang. You're not that bad of a person."

' _You don't know me,'_ Neo denied. ' _But maybe I also hate how blondie's being a pain in the ass. She's no fun when she's like this.'_

"Oh?" I questioned.

' _She didn't do anything when I threw a rock at her.'_

"You _what?!"_

' _Oh shut up. It was a small rock. A pebble. I swear.'_

"I don't think you should do that in the future," I said. "It isn't very nice."

Neo rolled her eyes. ' _Yes, ma'am."_

On my other side, Sun started grinning. "Ohohoho...I think you"-he pointed at Neo with his half eaten banana-"and I will think of something."

Neo raised an eyebrow.

"I really think we should let them take it naturally," I said, beginning to worry.

"We already did." Sun was waving his banana now. "But since they did nothing. It's time to uh...what's the word?"

' _Intervene?'_ suggested Neo.

"Yeah!"

Ilia side eyed Sun and Neo (and as a consequence, me) from a distance, as though she was thinking either ' _these people are crazy'_ or ' _these people are really stupid'._

Sun swallowed his banana and threw the peel into a nearby trash can. "Operation: Get Girls Talking is a go!'

' _I'm not usually into working with muscle monkeys, but I'll make an exception,'_ wrote Neo.

Sun frowned. "That was an insult, wasn't it? But...not an insult at the same time?"

Ilia facepalmed.

"Neo," I chided. When would I have the time to talk to Neo about her behavior? Maybe when we get to the vacation home. But then I had a few things I needed to deal with first… Well, I had (possibly) two weeks.

We had so much to work out and too little time.

' _So muscle monkey, got any plans?'_ asked Neo, completely ignoring everything.

"We can force them into a closet! Or, oh, I know! Pretend to be bad guys and make them work together and learn the power of friendship and stuff!"

Ilia facepalmed again.

' _Yeah no,'_ wrote Neo. I sighed in relief.

' _There's no closets around here-'_ Neo gestured at the path we're on. We'd gone off the main path and veered onto a small, rocky one that took us uphill to...somewhere. ' _-and the power of friendship isn't a thing.'_

I had the weirdest feeling Neo wasn't prioritizing the right thing.

' _A MUCH better plan is to show blondie an illusion of cat girl...but naked.'_ Neo laughed like a maniac.

"NO!" Ilia screamed before I had the chance to.

She turned bright red (literally...wow) when she realized everyone, even Blake and Yang, had stopped and stared at her.

"Are you okay, Ilia?" Blake asked with a concerned frown. I found myself very grateful that Neo didn't actually voice what she said.

"Uh... _ahem._ Yeah...yeah." Ilia looked at the ground and started walking again.

Neo raised an interested eyebrow. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Yeah, no," Sun said after a while. "We're not doing that."

Neo shrugged. ' _It was a joke (sorta). Taking one of them hostage is a whole lot easier.'_

Sun sweatdropped. "I don't think we should do that either. Why not just make bad rumours?"

' _Or…'_

After painstakingly listening to Neo and Sun bounce around truly horrible (and terrifying) ideas and accomplishing nothing for a good while, I decided to take matters into my own hand and talk to Yang.

I walked up to her and tapped on her shoulder.

She started and grabbed my hand. Then Yang nearly flipped me over her head.

When she saw me, she let out a breath. "Pyrrha...sorry."

"I-it's okay." _That was scary. Yang was scary._

"So, what's up?" she asked. "I thought you were with Sun, Neo, and...Ilia."

What was wrong with...oh. Right, Ilia was a former White Fang member. Yang probably didn't like that too much.

"What's up with you?" I asked awkwardly. 'What's up' wasn't something I said very often. But anyways, I gestured at Blake pointedly.

"..." Yang went silent.

"I think you should talk it out," I said. "Really."

Yang walked faster, but not nearly fast enough to catch up to Blake.

I followed her. "Yang..?"

She mumbled something.

"What?"

"Nothing," Yang said. "It's not that easy, y'know."

"I _will_ know," I said. "I may not have been in the same situation as you or Blake but I'm still going to have to talk to Jaune and…" _Somehow work it out and hope he doesn't hate me!_

"It may not be easy," I continued. "But you have to get it over with. Or else it'll be much harder in the long run."

I noted that a certain cat ear twitched.

Good.

Yang clenched her hands into fists. "Goddammit, I know that! But I just can't! I spent _weeks_ hoping for, I dunno, anything from her and I find her here of all places with parents and friends and…"

"Getting attacked by the White Fang?" I filled in.

But _parents._ Oh, I see. My stomach dropped. Seeing Blake with her parents must have set off some unpleasant feelings. Especially since we were looking for Yang's runaway bandit mother (I had mixed feelings about Raven) and I reminded Yang of her other mom, who was very much deceased.

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter._ I shivered.

"No, well, yeah, but you know what I mean," said Yang, sounding frustrated. "It's complicated."

"Hm…"

"It was just me and Dad for a while," Yang rasped "I told you about what happened with everyone before."

She had, on the Pride of Sirens. Ruby went to Mistral. Weiss returned to Atlas. Blake ran away. Yang couldn't go anywhere. Truly, it was the 'worst-case scenario' for a team (besides, obviously, the death of one or more teammates...oh wait).

"You can hold what people do in the past against them," I decided to try. "But, you can let that go, or give them a chance to explain themselves."

Before Yang could get in a word, I continued: "And you don't have to forgive Blake for what she did."

I forced out those words, because without a doubt, I was projecting my own situation onto Blake and Yang, with Blake being 'myself' and Yang being 'Jaune'.

"There's no harm in exchanging a few words about the situation, you know. I think it would really benefit the two of you."

I stared pointedly at the back of a certain dark-haired faunus. I doubt she could see me, but it made me feel like she was listening.

"A lot of people want things to work between you two, I'm sure your Dad would. But _I_ think that, in the end, it's your choice to make, Yang. You're the one that was hurt."

I wasn't sure if I came off as convincing or if I had articulated my points correctly. I didn't have time to think much about what I said so the words may have come out as jumbled or contradicting. So I was afraid I had messed up very badly when Yang didn't say anything. This time, she didn't bother walking away from me. She stayed at a steady pace, her eyes downcast.

Maybe she was thinking about what I said. _Hopefully,_ she was thinking about what I said and not, _wow,_ _that was real preachy, Pyrrha._

Well...I guess it _was_ preachy. Too preachy? Wonderful, now I was hyperventilating.

"We're here," Blake announced, turning to face the rest of us.

I blinked. We had scaled a hill and on top of it was a moderate sized house. It had much of the same architecture of the Belladonna mansion, but scaled down to fit the hill (otherwise, the house would be bigger than the hill). Though this wasn't to say the house was lacking in extra details. It had a fancy front porch and a balcony on the second floor. Inside the house, the lights were already on.

"Uh-" maybe Sun was going to comment on how someone was already in the house, but he never got the chance. The door slammed open to reveal Kali Belladonna in all her glory and Ghira Belladonna standing behind her.

How had they gotten here before us? Logically speaking, it should be impossible.

A little too late, I realize I had muttered my thoughts around people with cat ears.

"We adults have our secrets, darling," Kali said with a wink. "Now come on in!"

Sun didn't waste any time inviting himself into the house. It was to be expected, considering that he'd spent the better part of the last few months in the Belladonna Mansion. Neo followed him in, yawning as she entered. Yang drowsily walked up the steps, She rubbed her eyes, then jolted to a stop when she saw that Blake had blocked her path.

Oh?

Inside the house, Neo turned, probably excited to see a spectacle, and Sun's eyes widened comically when he saw what was happening.

Behind me, I heard Ilia's footsteps coming to a stop, so it was safe to assume she had noticed the situation at hand and acted appropriately.

Kali discreetly (not really) pulled Ghira into another room-which proved redundant as both adults poked their heads out to see the action.

"Yang…" Blake inhaled. She seemed to be having a hard time focusing on Yang. She let out her next words in a rush. "Wereallyneedtotalk."

Yang stared. With her left hand, she gripped her right arm.

Blake tried again. "W-we, uh, need to...talk."

Yang forced herself into a relaxed posture, moving her left hand onto her hip and slouching slightly. She sighed. "...yeah."

 _Awkward pause._

Blake started. "Uh...not here. I mean, if you want to, I'd be fine with it! ... _Ahem._ Yeah."

Yang shifted her feet. "I really don't." She looked pointedly at Neo (which just so happened to take her attention off _Blake)._ "Somewhere private would be nice."

Again, Neo.

Blake suddenly became flustered. "Private...y-yeah, we can do that. Yeah, I think my parents will let me use the attic."

"We will!" Kali confirmed.

Blake turned red.

Again, Yang shifted awkwardly. "Well...lead the way. This _is_ your house."

"S-sure." Blake turned and stiffly walked into the Vacation Home.

Yang kicked off her boots at the front porch. Then she followed Blake.

Sun and Neo had enough social awareness to part ways for them.

Blake went up the stairs. Seemingly every second, she looked back to make sure Yang was still following her. Yang was trying her best to stop the shaking in her (fake) right arm. If I could notice it from outside the house, it clearly wasn't going very well.

Finally, they disappeared onto the upper level.

The first thing that happened after the resident explosives left the area?

Ilia facepalmed.

I looked back at her.

"I'm sorry," she said, apparently letting go of her grudge against humanity for a few seconds. "But that was just painful to watch."

Then she walked past me and into the house.

I had to admit, I agreed with her full-heartedly.

After I had put away my shoes (and Yang's boots for her), I scanned the living room. It was a generic living room as far as living rooms went. It had a large couch and across from the couch was a holo projector. On both sides of the holo projector were vases filled with long dead plants. In the middle of the living room was a large, but short table. The type that you kneel at, not the type you sat on a chair for. Then, of course, in the right corner of the room, there were the stairs leading to the second floor. On the left side stood a large closet. There was also an opening that lead to the kitchen.

I declared the living room (and the rest of the house) relatively safe and harmless, except for those allergic to dust.

There was a lot of dust. On the table, the holo projector, the couch, _the floor,_ everywhere the eye could see.

Obviously it's been a long time since anyone had bothered to clean the house. Or visit, for that matter.

What a waste. It was a nice house.

Sun furiously swiped at the dust on the couch. Neo tried to find a way to look dignified without getting covered in dust. First, she attempted leaning on the couch, which just lead to her right side getting dirty. Then she tried to lean on the wall, but a pound of dust erupted on impact. She threw her hands up in the air in frustration, which sent a wave of dust falling onto the floor. Ilia simply stood in an empty space in the corner, her arms crossed. She was smart.

Ghira pulled a robot vacuum out of the closet. It looked old and was shaped like a flat cylinder. Ghira fiddled with the robot vacuum.

Kali looked at us apologetically. "Sorry it's a mess. We haven't been here since...well, long time ago."

I didn't particularly care. I sinked into the couch, dust be damned.

 _Ahhhh, a chance to lie down on furniture and finally rest!_

Other people were not as inclined to work with what they had.

' _Lady, please don't tell me I'm sleeping on a dusty bed. I can seriously find a better place to sleep outside,'_ wrote Neo. ' _And is there a bath? And running water?'_

"We have sleeping bags," said Kali. She wilted under Neo's expectant gaze. "And of course there's running water...in case we need to stay here due to, ah, emergencies."

Emergencies? So the Belladonna household knew they had enemies in the White Fang.

But their daughter was a part of the White Fang up until an year ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Blake hadn't contacted her parents while in Beacon too.

Hm...

' _Welp, I'm taking a shower, ladies and gentlemen. Tata!'_

Neo started up the stairs.

"Wait!" Sun exclaimed. He pointed at the ceiling, then mimed two people talking with his hands. He finished off by giving Neo a ' _duh'_ look.

' _I don't care. Besides, they're supposed to be in the attic.'_

"Oh." Sun scratched the back of his head.

Kali sighed. "Shower is just to your left when you get to the second floor."

Neo was gone in no time.

"Wow. Today sure was something! Yuuuup." Sun yawned. Hee looked dead on his feet.

Ilia scoffed. "Today was something for you? My life just got completely turned on its head. A few hours ago, I was trying to kidnap Blake and kill her parents and now, well-" she gestured at the house as a whole. "Where the hell do I go from here?"

Then she abruptly snapped her mouth shut and shrank back into the shadow.

I decided that the poor girl had some serious issues to work through.

Sun flinched.

Kali coughed awkwardly. "Yes...we're going to have to figure that out, one step at a time…" _preferably without attempted murder and/or abduction of my family_ was left unsaid.

Ghira got the vacuum robot working. He set it down and it started silently vacuuming the floor.

"If you three would follow me, I'll take you to a room where you can go to bed," said Kali.

"That's okay," I told her. "I can sleep here."

"But-"

"I don't want to intrude," I said, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "Besides, the couch serves me just fine and my cloak doubles as a blanket."

 _And I was really tired. I don't think I've rested since...waking up early this morning. Then it was driving the ship, running into the Belladonna Manor, and walking back here. That little rest after getting out of the mansion could hardly count_

"Well, alright," said Kali. "Sun and Ilia?"

"Coming!" Sun exclaimed. Ilia trailed behind him.

Then it was just me, the vacuum robot, and Ghira. Ghira busied himself with working on the holo projector. It must be dysfunctional from age.

The lights were still on and they'd probably stay that way until Ghira finished. I found myself unable to sleep.

I wondered how Blake and Yang were doing. Hopefully, they could get back on talking terms at the very least. I'd like to see them as friends and partners again, though if Yang couldn't forgive Blake, it would be better that they weren't. No relationship was infinitely better than an unhealthy relationship, in my opinion. Huh, when had I formed that opinion? Back in my preteens...probably. Well, whatever.

Speaking of Blake, how did Sun get involved with her? Didn't he have his own team? Shouldn't he be dealing with them as their leader? Wasn't that his responsibility? How did he even get to Menagerie? Maybe he lived here…that would make sense.

Then there was Ilia, who had admitted to criminal offense in attempting to 'kidnap Blake and murder her parents', she had said. I thought she was a little too young for that...she looked younger than Blake for Lord's sake. Not to mention how kidnapping and murder were generally considered _definitely morally wrong._ Sure, I wasn't someone who had any right criticizing criminal (terrorist) activities but still...

"Teenagers these days," I voiced.

Ghira turned around to give me a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you a teenager too, young lady?"

I-wait, _how old was I again?_ I had been 17 before the Fall but that's been months ago. Nearly an year ago, in fact. My birthday had passed in that time but...I was kind of _incapacitated_. Not to mention how this wasn't truly my body…

"Maybe," I finally said.

Ghira's eyebrows went higher up his forehead.

"Probably," I decided just to be on the safe side. "I'm not really sure why I said that, now that I think about it…"

"For what it's worth, I agree with you," Ghira said with a wry smile. "Teenagers these days indeed."

Without thinking, I said, "They're really a handful."

Um...

Ghira laughed, loud and booming. "Mature for your age, much?"

"Ah _,_ yeah. People say that a lot. I don't think it's true though...

No mystery words sprung from my mouth this time.

"Oh!" I fished out the package Fenris had given us. In all the excitement in Menagerie, I didn't find the time to deliver the package. I couldn't go out at such a late time and I definitely didn't want to, but I could at least ask about it.

"Do you know where to find this address?"

I showed Ghira the package. "It's...something I got from a…an acquaintance."

Ghira's eyebrows furrowed and his face turned stern. He came over to take a better look. "This...this is the Albain's address."

"Er, who are the Albains?"

"The White Fang responsible for the attack on my family."

Oh dear. What had Fenris been up to? Thinking back, I should've expected him to be sending a message to unsavory figures. I doubt he was the type to write back to family-assuming he had any, that is. He kept his private life well, _private._

"Is your acquaintance connected to the White Fang?" asked Ghira.

"I uh…I'm not sure."

Fenris made countless connections as an informant. _Of course_ he had connections in the White Fang, the hottest terrorist organization on the market. Though I doubt he had any personal stakes in the organization. He wasn't the type.

"No matter," said Ghira, looking troubled. "Though I can assure you the Albains certainly aren't going to be receiving messages anytime soon in prison."

Ghira looked at the package. "Could I have that?"

Years of conditioning screamed ' _NO!'_ but I reminded myself that I didn't work for the Fenris anymore. I _chose_ to be a huntress and help people. The Albains and the White Fang...they did the exact opposite.

And that's not even going on to point out that I can't get the message to the Albains anymore anyways. I helped put them behind bars.

I handed the package to Ghira in defeat. Raven...won't be a viable option anymore. Neither was Fenris. I was going to have to find another way to find my Team. I vaguely remembered Neo ayint they were probably going to Haven. Maybe we could hitch a ride with the faunus and help stop the White Fang, then check for signs of my Team. It was a one-in-a-million chance, but it was the only option I could see now. I'd have to talk to Neo and Yang about this in the morning.

Ghira sighed. "Get some sleep. It's been a long day."

He closed the lights and went up the stairs.

I spent most of the night worrying, then finally managed to drift off to uneasy sleep.

* * *

 **Yang**

Yang followed Blake up the stairs. She didn't miss how Blake checked to see if Yang was still following her. Which bothered Yang, because last time she checked, _Blake_ was the one that ran away. She didn't voice her thoughts. They would probably come out as weak and she'd been doing an awesome job so far _not_ stuttering over her words or being, well, stupid.

Blake though…

She'd been acting like Yang was some sort of scary volatile demon that could snap at anytime. Yang _wasn't!_ Well...most of the time? She _had_ kind of went overkill back at Blake's house.

Ugh, the point was, Blake acting on edge was making Yang acting (even more) on edge.

Yang hid her left arm behind her back as they walked through the second floor and ascended another flight of stairs at the very back. She couldn't stop her stupid arm from shaking (her psychiatrist had called it PTSD or whatever), but at least she could hide it.

Blake turned on an old lamp. The attic was, well, an _attic._ It was crummy and random useless stuff were piled up everywhere. The Xiao-Long Rose attic was the same thing-except the Xiao-Long Rose house wasn't a _vacation home._ Yang still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Blake was...rich for lack of a better word. How else do you explain the literal mansion that she lived in or her vacation home that was almost the size of Yang's house? Apparently Weiss wasn't the only filthy rich person on Team RWBY.

Funny, because Yang had always thought Blake was an orphan or something (and then _Pyrrha_ turned out to be an orphan, which Yang totally wasn't expecting). In Beacon, Blake was always super vague about her past. Whenever Yang tried digging for information (and she _had,_ partner bonding sessions and all that), Blake ust found a way to avoid the conversation. Yang knew Blake had been a part of the White Fang-which y'know, kinda implied she had a hard life and made some bad decisions-and that Blake had always wanted faunus equality. That was...about it until now.

Yang found herself a nice table to lean on and crossed her arms. That was kind of her thing now. It made her feel safe-something at her back and a decent way to hide her 'PTSD' problem.

Blake shifted awkwardly. She was still by the lamp, which stood on a table diagonal to Yang.

"So…" ventured Blake. "Um, you look good?" She put her hands in her pockets.

Yang snorted. She _did_ look good compared to how she was after the Fall. That wasn't hard, seeing as she had trouble _waking up_ and _getting out of bed_ and she had just recently _lost an arm._

Blake flinched. She probably realized how her statement could have come off to Yang.

Yang decided to pity her (possibly former?) partner. "You look good too."

Blake really did. She finally got rid of her goth attire thing and wore a cool looking white tailcoat over a black crop top. She wasn't wearing the bow that somehow (Yang never figured it out) hid her cat ears anymore either. Yang was _always_ telling her to do that. A little late but...eh.

They fell into silence again. It seriously bothered Yang. More than she thought it would (which was saying a lot). Before the Fall, the most dysfunctional set of partners in first-year had been Ruby and Weiss by a long shot. Yang and Blake had just kind of...clicked.

And now it was all gone. ...joy.

"Why did you do it?" Yang finally asked, her voice flat. "I didn't blame you. I would've done it all over again if I had to. I still would."

When she was recovering from the Fall, Yang found herself with all the time in the world-and too much time too. Most of it was spent sleeping, then the nightmares came and Yang started avoiding sleep. Then it was just _thinking._ A lot of it.

Blake was important to Yang and if there had to a sentence to describe Yang Xiao-Long, it would be ' _living for other people.'_ Yang didn't have her own goals. Her entire life was spent helping other people _._ She practically raised Ruby. Hell, she became a fucking huntress just because her little sister wanted to be one. She took care of Dad when he was a mess after Mom died. And if she was truthful to herself (and she was) finding Raven was really about how it would make other people happy. She had wanted to bring Raven what she deserved for abandoning Dad and Team STRQ. Then finding Raven turned into finding Ruby and helping Pyrrha find JNR.

So yeah, she would lose her arm again for Blake because that was really all Yang knew. It wasn't like she had anything better going on in her life.

In that way, Yang was a sad excuse for a person.

She wasn't even angry at Blake. Not really. Just disappointed and hurt.

Blake flinched again and she let out a shaky breath. "I...I...it's complicated."

Yang let out a frustrated groan. "Fine. If you're not-"

"No. It's complicated but I'm going to talk," Blake said. She sounded more sure than she'd ever been before. "I'm working on...not running anymore."

"That's good," said Yang. Definitely late, but it was an improvement.

"I...you know I was in the White Fang before Beacon, right?"

"How could I forget? You and Weiss had a three day fight over it." It felt like a lifetime ago.

"And I had a mentor and a partner?"

"Where are you going with this? Of course I do."

Blake took in a deep breath. "His name is Adam Taurus."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "The guy that's attacking Haven in a couple of weeks?"

"He was 'the guy' that-" Blake's eyes focused on Yang's mechanical arm.

Yang's brain was doing quicktime catch-up so all she could say was: "oh."

It-well, it _made sense._ No wonder why the guy had been targeting Blake. He was probably a revenge-filled asshole who didn't like how his student ran away.

"He's also...uh, I promised myself I wouldn't keep any more secrets from you," said Blake. "He's also _kind of_ my ex."

All Yang could think was: _scratch that, revenge-filled asshole ex-boyfriend._

She couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

"Y-Yang?" Blake looked concerned for Yang's sanity.

"I-I'm sorry," said Yang, doubling over. "It's just...this is all too insane for me. You can't blame me, I just got out of rehab. Look, I just learned that the person who chopped off my arm is your ex-boyfriend/mentor/partner and the same guy that's going to attack Haven in a couple of weeks. Give me a sec."

Blake gave her the time to laugh more, recompose herself, and cough self-consciously.

"This isn't even the craziest shit that happened in the past few months. Neo turned into a kind-of good guy and Pyrrha came back from the dead in what's probably the body of my dead mom."

Blake nodded accordingly, then blinked. "Um, excuse me? I could've sworn you said Pyrrha-"

"-came back from the dead in what's probably the body of my dead mom? Yeah, I never thought I'd say something so crazy either. But it's the only thing that explains it really."

"She _does_ have an eerie resemblance to Ruby. Something like that can't just be coincidence. If it helps, I saw rose petals when she saved Ilia," said Blake, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I didn't really think about it but-"

"My mom's Semblance was close-distance teleportation," Yang said. "She disappears and reappears in white rose petals. That's where Ruby gets it from."

"Anyways, I saw that too. It freaked me out, but I got the idea ages ago." Yang decided to just sit on the table. She was feeling more comfortable now.

"It _is_ pretty creepy," agreed Blake. "But it doesn't explain _how_ Pyrrha's back from the dead. Or why, for that matter. Why her?"

Yang shrugged. "I don't want to open that can of worms."

"Did you ask Pyrrha?"

"I think she's freaked out about her own resurrection more than anyone." Yang had seen her freeze up when she saw Yang's picture of Team STRQ, how she'd panic when her semblance didn't work, and how Pyrrha sometimes just completely loses connection with the outside world. It was unnatural.

Yang smirked. "Y'know, I could've sworn you were the quiet type."

Blake turned red. "I'm...I told you, I'm trying to change."

"Blake, I…" Yang finally worked up the courage to say what she had been thinking ever since Pyrrha had said: _But I think that, in the end, it's your choice to make, Yang._ Which, funny enough, was something Mom, _Summer,_ said to her a long time ago-something Yang had stored away as a precious memory.

"I can't forgive you for running away," said Yang.

Blake looked at the floor. "Oh-I mean, that's...that's what I expected. What I did was inexcusable and I can't change the past. If I _could,_ I would. I know I...hurt you a lot. That's not something that goes away."

"The past is the past," Yang said. " _I_ wouldn't change it. Look, I don't forgive you for running away, Blake, but I understand. And even if I did forgive you, it wouldn't make everything the same as before. I'm saying I won't forgive you, you _did_ hurt me and you're right, that's never going away, but...I'm also saying I'm willing to give you another chance. It won't be a _start over,_ we aren't erasing what happened, but I want to try being partners with you again."

Yang held up a hand.

Blake examined it. "It's...it's more than I deserve, really. How about this? This is my last chance. If I pull anything like what I did in the Fall of Beacon, no more chances. I'm done. I'll get out of your life. You should hate me by then. You should already hate me."

Yang shrugged. "I'll tell you something, I'm really bad at hating people. But deal. I might not hate you, but I definitely don't want to get hurt again."

They shook hands.

* * *

 **A/N: Yo! Hello again! So...thoughts, hm? I think a lot of us can agree that the Team RWBY reunion was a tad underwhelming. Especially the _BY part. I'm interested in how CRWBY will handle them in Vol 7, but I'm pretty proud of my interpretation. Pls tell me what you think, I'd love to know. Also, Ilia. We really don't know much about her and honestly, the RWBY cast is already so crowded that the best thing CRWBY could do is cut Ilia out of the main story along with Sun and Team JNR. It just isn't viable to write so many characters traveling to Atlas (srsly, imagine** _ **any**_ **stealth traveling with...eleven people WTF?). Trust me, once u get over like five people, it starts being a mess (which I think is one of the major problems of Vol 5). But in the meantime, Ilia, our resident best (and only) official lesbian, has become an edgy emo kid with angst and a truck-load of problems in Stars Never End because that's how I see someone with her situation acting. I'm excited to see if my characterization is accurate to the source material (probably not), if we see much of her at all, that is (probably not). Nyahahaha.**

 **Oh and also, Pyrrha's plot is finally progressing somewhere and Yang is far from an idiot. She can connect the dots. I'm excited!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Jam Com: This Story is somehow not abandoned.**

 **hirshja: They dont know for sure and Pyrrha isn't the type to chance stuff like this. May as well go the safe route...which has backfired spectacularly.**

 **velociraptor4343: That's a spoiler question and I can't tell you, Nyahahaha. I WILL tell you that I enjoy writing suffering...a lot.**

 **merendinoemilliano: long time no talk...write? How's it been, dude?**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Nyahahaha, no convenient Yang Ex Machina this time!**

 **Xenolis: :)**

 **jonj1762: better late than never?**

 **Dandaman5: thx! Really appreciate it.**

 **Frost: hope I didn't disappoint. I'm sry for the long waiting period.**

 **bwburke94: I'm sad to say nothing's changed as much as I liked. The more drastic changes are coming up and I'm excited!**

 **BukkakeNoJutsu: I hope it stays that way!**

 **Acronymous: Tsk, ill see what I can do with that. Right now though, spoken is obvious ("), Neo is italics and ', and thoughts and/or dream scenes/flashbacks are just italics.**

 **Eh: Holy shit she did indeed. And I don't know why those words are so sad either (I'm gonna assume that was still u reviewing)**

 **Gizmo Gear: tada.**

 **A Relevant Meme: um wat?**

* * *

 **Twitter: ArosCao_ARC**

 **Please Review, Fav, and Follow and make my day. =)**


	16. Chp XV: Denial

**Chp XV: Denial**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.**

" **/Don't worry, I've got you; Nothing will ever harm you/I'm close by, I'll stay here; Through all things I will be near/" ~ 'Gold' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

The next day, I woke up sore all over. It wasn't pleasant.

I looked on the bright side and pointed out to myself that I didn't have any more nightmares. Which was _always_ a good thing.

Sluggishly, I got off the couch and stretched. Stretching was important. It maintained flexibility and range of motion. Usually, it also helped avoid muscle soreness. ...Yesterday didn't seem _too_ strenuous, but I suppose it was the most action I've had since the Fall.

"Yo Pyrrha, you gonna eat breakfast or what?" Yang appeared from the kitchen. She had gotten rid of her leather coat, which left her wearing an orange crop top.

I'm aware that it's hot in Menagerie but...please put some more clothes on.

I kept that thought strictly in my head.

"Breakfast sounds good," I said. I took my cloak off the couch and put it on. Then I followed Yang into the kitchen, which doubled as a dining room.

It looked like someone, probably Kali, had completely overhauled the room sometime between yesterday and this morning. Unlike the rest of the house, the kitchen/dining room was polished and impeccably clean. It made sense, no one wanted to eat in dust.

The dining table was small compared to the table in the living room. It could hold maybe six people at best. Sun took up an entire bench by lounging. He popped grapes into his mouth. On the other side, Blake sipped milk and looked completely unimpressed by Sun's actions. I didn't see Neo, Ilia, or Blake's parents.

On the bright side, Yang was in the same room as Blake and not actively trying to avoid her. This meant that they'd at least sorted out some things yesterday night. I was glad.

There was an array of breakfast food, plates, and utensils on the kitchen counter. I took some fried eggs and potatoes.

"What time is it?" I wondered.

"Like ten," said Yang. She was busy shoveling pancakes onto her plate.

"T-Ten?" _When was the last time I woke up that late?!_ If I was still at Beacon, I'd have missed three periods already! Even on weekends, I made it absoloutly mandatory to wake up at 8:00 at the latest. It was important to go to bed and wake up on a consistent time frame, after all. Ten o'clock was just shameful.

"Yeah, kinda early when nothing's going on," Yang mused.

"E-Early?" I got the sudden urge to rant about sleeping schedules to Yang. Instead I said: "H-Huh...Yang, pancakes aren't healthy for you."

"Seriously, Mo-Pyrrha? It's breakfast." Yang made Sun sit up. She sat down next to Sun.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," I pointed out. "Everyone knows that."

Blake raised an eyebrow. She looked between me and Yang. "Yang's on her third meal," Blake said.

That's…

Yang innocently swallowed a pancake whole.

...Well, I had no right judging her for her breakfast choices…

I took a seat next to Blake. "Where's everyone else?" I asked. I absentmindedly cut up my fried eggs.

"My parents are working with the rest of Menagerie," said Blake. She sighed. "We only have two weeks to get everyone prepared and...I thought it was a good idea for the faunus of Menagerie to fend off the White Fang before but...well, I never _actually_ thought about it."

I frowned at my eggs. "Most of Menagerie are civilians, correct? That _does_ pose a problem. No matter how talented you are, without the proper training, you're not going to be very good on the field."

Sun spoke up. "But most of the White Fang are civilian volunteers anyways, right? It's basically the same thing."

Blake flinched.

Sun's tail waved in the air nervously. "I mean... _not_ the same thing, but the same power level! ...And less killing, maiming, and destroying things!"

Yang frowned.

"I'll shut up now," decided Sun. He popped a grape into his mouth.

"We _are_ bringing the guards," said Blake. "And we know Ad-the White Fang's plans, so we have an advantage there…"

"What about Huntsmen?" asked Yang suddenly. "Hire a few of them and things get a lot easier."

" _Or_ message the police force," I added. "It's free."

"No, money isn't an issue," said Blake. She set down her glass of milk-now empty. "I guess we can try the the Huntsmen idea…" Blake looked at Yang. "It'll be slow though, with the CCT system down…"

I could almost clap for eye contact. Instead, I ate fried eggs.

The rest of breakfast preceded mostly in silence. A few times, mundane subjects would come up, such as what Blake and Sun had been doing in Menagerie (a lot of nothing and on occasion, fighting Ilia). Understandably, nothing about what Yang or I've been doing were brought up.

I never did figure out where Neo or Ilia had gone. We'd been completely sidetracked.

When I finished washing everyone's plates (I volunteered), I was left with quite a perplexing problem.

 _What do I do now?_

For the first time in months, I didn't have someplace to go. It looked like I'd be waiting two weeks to go to Haven so-

Oh, right, I still needed to discuss Haven with Yang and Neo.

Yang just shrugged. She thought it would be a good idea to chance it. Also, she had been preoccupied with a video game. Where she got the video game? I had no idea.

Then I tried calling Neo-except Neo was mute and calling her would be quite pointless. And...I never got her phone number anyways. Blake told me she'd seen Neo leave the house.

I was forced on a wild goose chase.

I spent the next three hours running around Menagerie and getting sidetracked along the way. I helped hand out the training weapons in the town center, said 'hi' to Ghira and Kali, got lost in the market, ran an errand for an old lady, and had to take a rest at the docks. On the bright side, our (temporarily borrowed) boat wasn't gone, so there was a good chance Neo didn't simply ditch Menagerie.

Menagerie was hot and I'd worn a cloke. ...That was a bad move on my part. But...I couldn't leave the cloak. It just felt-it felt like it had _meaning_ to it. Like I've had it ever since-

A searing pain ripped through my skull. I held my head and stumbled.

" _..."_

"Gah!" I fell on my knees. I shut my eyes.

" _...I-"_

My eyes fluttered open and closed. In the reflection of the ocean, for a split-second I thought I saw silver irises instead of green. Then it was gone.

"Hey, girl! Is something wrong?!"

Just as suddenly as it begun, the pain was gone. "N-No, everything is fine!" I said.

The Menagerie Guard shrugged and walked off. He muttered to himself about 'the crazy humans these days'.

I breathed heavily, taking in and letting out gasps of air.

I've had a stressful week… As much as I hated to admit it, maybe I needed to take a long rest. After all, I couldn't help anyone if I had random migraines… Just to be on the safe side, I didn't think about the cloak anymore.

I found Ilia kicking rocks on the trail to the Belladonna Vacation Home. She didn't seem very happy.

"Uh," I said.

Ilia swung around. Her weapon was already out and pointed at my face. Seeing who I was, she snorted and put her weapon away. Still, I saw her fingers twitch towards the hilt of her sword. _Please calm down._ After determining that I was not in fact a threat, Ilia returned to kicking rocks.

I decided not to comment on the rock thing. "Hey, Ilia? Have you seen Neo anywhere per chance?"

Ilia blinked. "Who's Neo?"

I...I _did_ introduce Neo to her. "The short girl with the multicolored hair and eyes?"

"Oh, _that_ one," Ilia said. "I don't like her."

"Um…"

"She's on the roof," Ilia added. She kicked a pebble, sending it flying down the trail.

"Uh…"

"Shut up. I'm just bored."

"Right." I hightailed away from Ilia. That girl clearly had some pent up issues.

Neo was on the roof, like Ilia had said. I found a ladder leading up to the roof at the back of the house. I climbed it.

Neo seemed content sitting on the highest point of the house and spying on the people of Kuo Kuana below. She nodded at me even though I'm behind her.

"Hello, Neo," I said. "I've been looking for you the entire morning."

I was a little miffed that she'd been sitting on the roof the whole time.

Neo turned around. She was smirking. ' _I saw'._

I stopped myself from twitching. "And you didn't think to tell me?"

' _Not really. It'd take too much energy.'_

It _would have_ exponentially reduced the energy I needed to expend. "Neo, maybe you should try making other people's lives easier. Trust me, it gives you a nice feeling inside."

' _I don't want nice feelings in my inners.'_ Neo looked me in the eyes as she added: ' _Besides, I'm not a pushover like you.'_

"I'm not a push-!" Neo was right, of course. I _was_ a pushover. A complete pushover. The most pushover pushover I know.

 _You're too nice, Pyrrha._

"Yeah, and what's wrong with that?" I was suddenly on the defensive. I didn't know why myself. "What's wrong with wanting to give other people what they want? Isn't that a good thing to do? It makes me a better person-and being the best person you can be is vital."

Neo tilted her head. Her face was deadpan. ' _You're idea of a better person is pretty twisted. Hey, tell me Pyrrha, what makes someone a good person?'_

"Don't be ridiculous," I said. "A good person is someone who-err…Someone who does good things."

' _Huh. Well, isn't that vague. What's a good thing?'_

I wanted to wipe the smirk off Neo's face. She was trying to get to me, I knew that.

Patience yields focus…Patience yields focus…

"A good thing is...something that helps people," I said lamely.

' _Really? Hey Pyrrha, if you had a choice to save a boat with a hundred people or to save a boat with fifty people, which would you choose?'_

"I...I would try to save bo-"

' _If you try to save both, they all die.'_

"...A hundred people."

' _In that case, you didn't help fifty people. Would saving the hundred people be a good thing?'_

"..."

' _Say, Pyrrha. What if you do something you think is good, but other people don't see it like that?'_ Neo gestured at Ilia, who was still intent on kicking rocks. ' _Take chameleon girl over there. She really thought that hurting innocent people would help the faunus. Was what she did wrong?'_

"Of course it was. Hurting innocent people is never right." I knew I was walking straight into Neo's trap.

' _You killed fifty innocent people in the boat question,'_ Neo reminded me. ' _What If Ilia was right and hurting innocent people really would make the world a better place for the faunus? Then would her actions be justified?'_

"...The end doesn't justify the means."

' _You say that, but even someone like you realizes that no outcome is scott-free, right? No war is won without sacrifices. No side wins without another one losing. Yada, yada.'_

"...Look, what's your point?"

Neo shrugged. She sighed. ' _I don't know. Maybe I'm trying to say, don't let your idiosyncrasies destroy your life or some inspirational shit like that.'_

"Language," I grumbled. Then I said: "I doubt there will ever be a time when my 'idiosyncrasies' as you put it, get tested. It's just unrealistic to only have a choice between boats of fifty and a hundred."

' _That's not what I meant, idiot. Nothing gets through that thick head of yours does it? I've gotta say, at least you're good at denial.'_

I clenched my fists. "Can we stop talking about this?"

I was on the verge of saying something very rude And regrettable, like ' _shut up!'._

The worst part was, in a small part of my mind, I knew Neo _had a point._ I just didn't want to listen to it.

' _Heheh. I'm just making myself unlikeable to everyone, aren't I?'_ mused Neo.

I had no idea why she'd write 'heheh'. For the record, I didn't _not_ like Neo. She was just very hard to _actually like._ No, it's more accurate to say that she _wasn't someone you wanted to hang around or have a conversation with._ I was hanging around and having a conversation with Neo.

' _What did you want from me?'_ Neo asked, doing a complete 180.

"I…" I was having a bit of trouble focusing after Neo ripped me apart with her bare words. "Right, I wanted to ask you what we should do. You told me that my Team might be going to Haven so…"

' _So you want my advice for if we stay or leave?'_ Neo raised an eyebrow.

"Yang wasn't much help," I admitted. "I think she's just happy about Blake right now."

' _Oh? Well, she'll remember her sister and mother sooner or later."_

I felt a little guilty talking about Yang. "Moving on. What do you think?"

Neo shrugged. ' _That was just speculation. On the bright side, Cinder-'_

I winced.

' _The bastard is definitely gunning for Haven-and if your Team really does want revenge, then meeting Cinder will definitely be end game. It'll be just like the Fall.'_

At ' _just like the Fall,'_ my stomach plummeted. "S-So what does all that have to do with your decision?"

' _Don't be an idiot, idiot. Use your brain. The White Fang's already been associated with the bastard. Their attack can't be random.'_

"Oh." I figured out what Neo was getting at. In two weeks time, not only did I have the best chance to meet up with my Team, I had the best chance to meet with _her._ But-"Why would _she_ go to Haven? She has no reason I can think of…"

Unless she held some sort of grudge for the Huntsmen Academies, that is.

Neo facepalmed. ' _Just think about it. I've given you all the information. Make the decision yourself.'_

"...What about you, Neo? Are you going to be waiting?"

' _TBD.'_

I blinked.

' _To be decided, idiot."_ Neo twitched, as if physically harmed by my perceived idiocy. She paused. ' _Are you going to stay up here? Because you look like you're going to fall off the roof.'_

"Thanks to who?" I muttered. I started climbing down the stairs.

' _Huh. I guess I bring out the worst in people too. :)'_

"That isn't something you should be proud of…"

I spend the rest of my day lounging around the house. I didn't like how useless I was being, but I

didn't want to chance the migraines. Tomorrow, I'd be helping Ghira and Blake train the civilians. I heard Yang had decided to join in too. That seemed like the plan for the next two weeks.

I've decided to wait to go to Haven. If that was the best chance I had...I was going to take it, consequences aside. After all, a Huntress shouldn't be defined by what they fear, they should be defined by the fears they could overcome.

Besides, it'd be wrong to go as soon as possible when the people of Menagerie were planning on standing up to the White Fang. I wanted to help them in any way I can...I've seen what the White Fang could do and how they've destroy faunus reputation. And...how they can destroy _people._

I had dinner and went to bed on the couch.

* * *

 _I was on the third floor with Fenris again. Or to be more accurate, my younger self was with Fenris and I was a mere spectator._

 _There was no sign of the cloaked woman this time around. Maybe she had finally decided to remove herself from my head._

 _Fenris opened the door for the younger Pyrrha. Beyond the door laid pitch black darkness._

 _That wasn't supposed to be what was there. This was wrong. I had a feeling this was wrong._

 _But still, I didn't stop the young Pyrrha from entering the door._

 _As soon as she disappeared, everything shifted._

 _Suddenly, I was in the middle of a village in ruins. I was crying. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why. Something bad had happened here, that was obvious. But why did it feel so personal?_

 _And why did everything feel so big?_

 _I was holding something soft. It felt like cloth._

 _I couldn't control what I was doing. My legs moved on their own. I found myself walking down the street._

 _I finally managed to process what I was seeing. It wasn't just a village in ruins. It was a village in ruins right after a genocide. I walked around a man laying face down on the ground. The man had a giant hole going through his guts. I didn't linger on him for too long. I coughed. There sure was a lot of smoke in the air. A woman's carcass was only a few feet away from the man. She held a generic sword in hand. She suffered from several large puncture wounds. The most prominent were to her face. None of her features were discernible anymore. If the pools of blood on the floor were any indication, she had bled to death._

 _Finally, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see any of this anymore. I could just lay down and die like everyone else had-_

" _Grrr…"_

 _My eyes shot open. I stepped back in fear. Grimm! I'd never seen-No, that wasn't true. My thoughts are jumbled, but this was definitely a Beowulf. An Alpha too..._

 _It circled me, as if waiting for me to make my move. I didn't have any moves to make. I couldn't even find the will to run, much less fight._

 _Finally, it got fed up with how harmless I was and lunged._

" _GHRAAAA—"_

 _Just as it's claw reached my face, it turned into smoke. The same smoke that was in the air._

" _Thank the Lords… At least one of you have survived."_

 _Oh, I see. The Beowulf hadn't simply disappeared. It had been killed._

 _My savior was a man with a cane. He wore shaded glass spectacles. That was about the only thing I could call 'conventional' about him. He had on three layers of clothing. An unzipped suit, a buttoned vest, and a green sweater with a cowl. He's pale and his messy black hair made me think that he didn't go out too much._

 _I was shaking. This entire experience had left me drained._

 _The man kneeled down in front of me. "Hm...you don't seemed hurt...on the outside, anyhow."_

 _I didn't say anything. I just wanted to sleep and for the day to finally end. That wasn't too much to ask, right?_

" _Don't worry. You're safe now, young lady," said the man. He gave me a warm smile, as if I had just brightened his day._

 _I hold the cloth closer to me. Now that I could see it, it was a large white cloak._

" _Why don't we start with introductions? What's your name?"_

 _It took me a while to speak coherent words. I tried to say things, only for my vocal cords to fall flat or for my tongue to spout gibberish. Finally, I managed:_

" _S-Summer Rose."_

* * *

'I've got to say, at least you're good at denial.'

Neo's words didn't leave me for the entire day. It started when I woke up, continued through breakfast (cereal and potatoes), and even bothered me while training the civilians.

Similarly, the entire day went by in a daze. Every action I took felt as if I was walking/bouncing/eating/fighting on clouds. Nora would be proud.

I was also having trouble meeting Yang's eyes. What could I say? 'Hello, Yang...are you aware of the fact that your dead mo-'

Oh wait, I was trying my best not to think about that.

I skillfully avoided the subject that was bouncing around my head and demanding my utmost attention by doing every task I could get my hands on. By the end of the day, I'd done more work than most people did in a month.

I had cleaned the entire house, the front yard, the backyard, the roof, went grocery shopping, fishing, organized all of the chief's papers, read a book on botany, and binge-watched a documentary on world history while running through basic training exercises.

At the end of the day, I practically collapsed onto my couch.

"Pyrrha, you okay?" Yang gave me a worried look.

Before I could formulate any believable lie, I said: "Absolutely not."

"Okayyy~" For some reason, Yang looked more concerned than before. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Absolutely not," I said, by which I meant that the last person I would talk to about my very specific current predicament was Yang.

Yang frowned.

"It isn't you, I promise," I said. "I just...had some bad thoughts yesterday night."

"You can always count on me, you know," said Yang. She gave a thumbs up. "Maybe I know what you're going through."

I doubted it.

Yang went upstairs.

I tried to avoid sleep.

It didn't work.

Surprisingly, no dreams invaded my mind. Maybe it was all over after that?

* * *

Unfortunately, I had accidentally fallen asleep late at night. As a result, I was running on coffee for the next two days. I wasn't usually one for caffeinated drinks but...desperate times called for desperate actions.

I felt much better on the second day, after I've had enough time to put away the thoughts of the last two days in a box.

I ate breakfast (burritos and potatoes), ran a lap around Menagerie, worked with the civilians, and returned to the Belladonna Vacation Home to run through my training routine.

"Feeling better, Pyrrha?" asked Blake when she and Sun passed by me. I was taking a break in the kitchen.

I nearly spat out my water. "W-What? I...Was I glum or something?"

"Yeah, dude. You looked like the world ended or something," said Sun.

"Oh," I said lamely. I changed the subject. "How's Ilia? She hasn't been adjusting well, right?"

"We had a heart to heart," Sun said proudly.

Blake snorted. "I'm not sure if that's how I'd describe it." She looked at me. "They dueled."

"They fought?"

"In the middle of the city," Blake confirmed. "Yang videotaped it."

"Yeah, it was epic." Sun grinned. "If you can't get through to someone, punch them!" He demonstrated by hitting his palm with his fist.

"That's an...interesting solution," I said.

"Oh, and then we talked about some...stuff." Sun glanced at Blake.

"Sun didn't want me," said Blake. She frowned. "That was weird."

"W-Well, y'know...we had our reasons." Sun laughed nervously.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Great, bye, Pyrrha, Blake, gotta go!" The blonde practically launched himself out of the room.

"That was weird too," said Blake. She opened the refrigerator. "Maybe I should talk to Ilia…"

* * *

I received no ominous dreams that night either.

In fact, my brain had completely shut down the minute I wanted to get some much needed sleep (I decided that trying to avoid sleep was a waste of time, not to mention bad for my body).

As a reward, I finally managed to get a good night's sleep.

This left me wondering why I felt so tired when I woke up. Huh, perhaps it was an after effect of overdosing on coffee? I'd have to ask Neo.

Anyways, I stumbled into the kitchen, ready to feast on a new breakfast meal (and potatoes).

By now, I'd realize that if Blake's parents were in the kitchen when I woke up, it was the crack of dawn. If it was Neo or Ilia, it'd be around eight or nine. If it was Blake, Yang, and Sun, I had definitely overslept.

I had definitely overslept.

Blake was nowhere to be found, but the two blondes were enjoying an extended breakfast.

"Yeah, so I was like Woosh! Wham! Bang! right?" exclaimed Sun.

Yang nodded slowly.

"And then I caught Blake and said, 'This is the part where you say it' in, like, my coolest voice ever. She didn't say it, but eh, she paid me back later." Sun crossed his arms. His tail fed him cereal on a spoon. "Buuut, I'm still a little salty."

Yang twirled what looked like whip cream with her spoon. "Sounds like Blake...But a Sea Dragon? That's insane."

"Sea Dragon?" I voiced. I walked to the table, steamed eggs and potatoes on a plate in one hand, a glass of milk in the other.

Yang pointed her spoon at Sun. "Sun and Blake fought a Sea Dragon on a boat."

I looked at Sun. "Really? That's incredible."

Sun laughed. He scratched the back of his head. "It was nothing...Like, it's what we've been training for, right?"

"Were," corrected Yang. "What we _were_ training for."

The table descended into silence.

"I wonder when the Academies will open back up," said Sun. He stared intently at his cereal. "We've still got a few more years and...it'd really suck if we never graduate."

I might never be a Huntress. I might stay as a Huntress-in-training forever.

 _I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress - to protect the world._

Of course, when I fought _her_ I hadn't expected to live and conversely to become a Huntress but...can someone who's life already ended really return to chasing their destiny? Should they?

Well, what an awful way to start the day. And just when I was feeling better too…

Sun, who must have felt the atmosphere dampen as well, quickly changed topics. "Hey Pyrrha, what were you doing walking around in the middle of the night yesterday?"

I blinked. "I wasn't up last night. On the contrary, I finally got some sleep."

"Huh." Sun shrugged. "Guess I was seeing things after all. I mean, you don't have silver eyes."

"W-What?" _For a split-second I thought I saw silver irises instead of green._

Yang frowned. She muttered something under her breath.

"Don't worry about it," said Sun. "I was totally out of it."

"Were you drunk?" asked Yang.

"No! Dude! That's totally not legal!"

Yang practically gaped at Sun. "Wait-you never-I mean, so what if it's not legal?"

"It's not legal! I have a Junior Detective Badge and a code to uphold, man!"

I stared at my reflection in my milk. I saw green eyes but I dared to think-

How long will it last?

* * *

 **A/N: Y'know, for some reason I always thought Sun and Yang would get along. Then I always think that Sun, Yang, and Ilia would make up the 'obsessed with Blake' trifecta and Adam...Adam is on the sidelines because he's an ass. XD. But seriously-there are wayyyy too many people obsessed with Blake. At this point, she's got her own harem.**

 **Beta is brother.**

 **(Pssst-this chp's lyrics and the conversation with Neo will be very important.) *wink, wink, wink, wink, wink...wink***

 **Also, tell me what you guys think about the Adam short!**

 **My thoughts: The action scenes are finally getting better! Adam's voice actor is kinda bland! omg, is that actual blood?! Overall, the short was really cool and works in showing off the technical improvements of the show. I just wish Adam actually got some character development...**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **KuletXCore: Cheers! From now on, I want to try a bi-weekly schedule, so hopefully chapters drop faster. ...I was going to last chapter, but life made other plans.**

 **merendinoemilliano: it's nice to hear that life's been good/fine with you, dude (to me, dude is an universal pronoun btw). And you're a Sun fan (I mean, I'd guess from shipping BlackSun, but eh)? Hey, I'm a Sun fan too! He's a pretty rad! And yeah, some Bumblebee shippers are kind of jerks to Sun. They're like the Klance of RWBY… As for JNR...well, they probably won't-it'd just make things a lot easier and effective for the writers and animators.**

 **Summer-Rose-RWBY: believe it or not, I actually have an ending planned for SNE! Once that's all wrapped up, I'm going back to Ashened Rose.**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Whoops. I changed it, I think. Thanks for pointing that out. Neo's the world's best troll.**

 **TheWizardousMagicman: Ah, I don't think think I'll be doing much POV switches in the future...this is a Pyrrha story, after all, not a RWBY story. I'd love to check out this AO3 test story, send me a link? And what's up with Fanfic's structure? Is beta reading a pain or something?**

 **Gizmo-Gear: MAGIC SOLVES EVERYTHING! And you'll see...Mwahahaha. I mean-if you hadn't figured it out already by the end of this Chp.**

 **LoudButSilent: Alas, it's a gradual shift from white to black. In between, there is grey! ...I'm not good with poetry.**

 **Dandaman5: me too. :)**

 **darkvampirekisses: I agree, you should probably get some sleep, lol. I've had a few of those moments with some really great fanfic too...and I'm honored that you're willing to go sleep-deprived to read my writing so...thanks, but srsly, being sleep-deprived sucks so get some sleep!**

 **Mecharic: I plead the fifth and am keeping my mouth shut no matter how much I wanna spill the beans. ;)**

 **bwburke94: don't you worry! 'I don't know' land is soon to be truly and completely over and I can get to something even worse!**

 **leokayser: thanks! I really appreciate it!**

 **TacoKing23: Indeeeed~ everything you say is correct, of course. Just put together in the wrong way. Now if only I can hurry up and write the answers…**

 **TheDarkFreak: Implications indeed! Now Weiss...Nyahahaha.**

 **Jojobrn: You know me too well, Jojo.**

* * *

 **Gonna try biweekly schedule. See ya guys in (hopefully) two weeks!**

 **Twitter: ArosCao_ARC**

 **Please Review, Fav, and Follow and make my day.**


	17. Chp XVI: Honest (Now w Responses)

**Chp XVI: Honest**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute/Make you understand the reasons why I did it." ~ 'Red Like Roses Pt II' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

The first week had passed quite uneventfully. That is, well, with the exception of my... _problems._

Unfortunately, it seemed that as soon as week two started, the faunus of Menagerie realized that they were untrained with practically no fighting experience and volunteering to protect Haven from a collection of (mostly) highly dangerous and murderous terrorists.

They were not enthused.

Some were having doubts (and rightfully so, I might add). Others were using basic logic to see the millions of ways things could go wrong during the Attack.

There was a nervous tension in Kuo Kuana, yet life went on as normal. No one spoke about the Attack outside training sessions, when the was brought up, it was quickly replaced by happy story times. It was the weirdest thing.

Neo described it as ' _a Cold War...they're trying not to snap. They're denying their fate. You should be worried. If anyone snaps, everything's gonna unravel'._ She had grinned. ' _It would be chaos.'_

As per usual, Neo didn't have any tack. She'd bluntly and brightly stated her opinions on the matter in the middle of breakfast.

Right to Kali and Ghira's faces. I'd guess this was her plan. She almost never had breakfast with well...anyone.

I was there-I had been the one to bring the topic up in the first place, but it had been clear that Neo wanted the Belladonnas to face her facts.

I didn't think Kali thought of Neo as 'cute' anymore.

The Belladonnas, being surprisingly capable (it must run in the family), quickly began spreading propaganda throughout the city.

I didn't know how to feel about that. The Academies have always taught of propaganda as manipulative and foul play.

Ilia mentioned offhand that the White Fang used similar methods. I did not find that tidbit improving my opinions.

Neo told me that spreading propaganda was certainly beneficial to our cause. She had said it in a sarcastic manner:

' _Idiot. If you plan to save Haven, this is the best way to get it done. The propaganda is a great morale booster. It gives them a banner to fall under, confidence and a community._

 _We're just using them for a little bit, that's all.'_

I replied:

" _We're not using them! They volunteered!"_

She said:

' _To be used.'_

I told her:

" _I dislike how your mind works."_

Neo had smirked. ' _You mean hate.'_

" _No I don't-"_ If I was being honest, yes I did. " _Hate is a strong word."_

' _Everyone's being used by someone, idiot. I'm betting there's not a single person in the world that hasn't and isn't, willingly or unwillingly.'_

Neo's wrong. She had to be. After all, I wasn't being used by anyone at the moment. And I certainly hadn't been when I was at Beacon.

I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and believe in her ' _hasn't'_ though. Maybe everyone does get used _sometime_ in their life.

Just not most of the time-and definitely not all the time.

 _Clang!_

I shouldn't be distracted. If I didn't put my all into this, it wouldn't be fair to Blake!

I had managed to block her attack with my lance. My eyes darted around the area. Blake was using the foliage to her advantage. Meanwhile, I stayed out in the open.

I wasn't too good with trees and bushes. Hiding in them? Perhaps I still had some of that left. But silently moving through them? Blake had me beat by miles.

So I waited for her to attack again.

Sun surprised me, I'd never think to-

Blake appeared out of nowhere. She'd jumped out of a tree and she's aiming for me-

On reflex, I held up my lance. I slashed as Blake did. Our weapons would've collided-but they didn't. White Rose runs straight through Gambol Shroud and Blake.

A clone-

Too late. Blake's already standing at my side. She aimed and kicked me in the stomach.

My aura flashed up in an attempt to protect me. It stopped Blake from injuring me, as aura does, but not from the force that sent me rocketing into a tree.

I stabbed White Rose into the ground. As it slid through the dirt, I plant my feet on solid land. I stop a few inches from the tree.

Blake's already gone by the time I'm done.

She's very good.

I felt a little miffed. I hadn't been the Mistral Regional Tournament Champion four times in a row for nothing!

Hm...was my competitive nature stronger than usual? I _had_ been feeling a little more energized than usual lately.

No matter, I had a fight to win.

"Kick her butt, Blake!" Sun cheered.

He, Yang, and Ilia were sitting on trees. Different trees, mind you. Ilia refused to sit with anyone. Sun decided to climb the tallest, most dangerous tree he could fine. Yang found a random tree.

Sun added, "A-And you too, Pyrrha."

I realized I had been glaring.

Ilia snorted.

I focused on the match. If I wanted to win, I'd have to give the fight my full attention.

Blake was fast-but her attacks weren't strong. She relied on a strike-and-fly method.

If I could use that to my advantage… If I could predict when she'd strike…

I looked for rustles in the trees. I started walking.

— _There!_

I jumped to the side. Blake appeared in my spot only seconds before.

I didn't waste time striking. I slashed.

Blake dropped a clone in her place. All she had to do was step back.

She fired with Gambol Shroud. My aura flared. The bullets hurt and I was glad Blake had decided to aim at the nonvital points.

I surged forward. As if I'd done it a million times before, I kicked out Blake's feet from under her and-

And what?

Too late-Blake wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around my foot. We both crashed onto the ground.

"...Good one," I said. I winced. Aura might protect your body from harm, but it didn't come with a pain reducer.

Blake nodded. "Hm."

She smirked.

I realized that the pistol of Gambol Shroud was pointed at my chest.

— _Stupid._

I supposed I've lost. The logical thing to do now would be to forfeit.

"Forfeit?" Blake asked.

I raised my hands. "Ye-"

— _No._

No?

"No?" asked Blake, eyebrow raised.

I realized I had spoken the words out loud.

"Er-"

Blake fired Gambol Shroud.

Maybe she had something to prove too?

I watched the bullet come at me in slow motion.

Both Blake and I knew that it wouldn't even hurt me-Blake was using dummy bullets, after all. Still, Blake's dummy bullets _acted_ like the real deal and from experience, I knew they certainly _felt_ like the real deal.

Then everything flashed out of existence.

I had felt this somewhere before. Oh, that's right. Back in the Belladonna Manor with Ilia (who, now that I think about it, never even said a simple 'thank you'. — _Rude)._

— _sOr()Y, K()d. ()uT I()ve ()()t bUSi()()s() tO ()in()IsH._

My visioned returned and I'm behind Blake.

She was standing. Her ears flicked. I'd guess Blake was looking for me.

White rose petals littered the ground. I hadn't noticed those before.

I thought-how did I get from there to here?

But I didn't linger on that thought (and maybe I was trying to avoid thinking. Maybe I was afraid of knowing. Maybe I was in denial.).

I swept Blake's feet out from under her.

I remembered now-

— _Yes. Sweep, knee, land._

Appearing at Blake's side (the how was irrelevant), I kneed her as she fell.

Somehow, I used enough force that Blake rocketed into the air.

That-was- _definitely-_ unnessecary.

— _Next, into the air. K()Ck agaI()._

I prepared to jump.

But-

Why?

I didn't want to _obliterate_ Blake.

 _Headache._ My mind throbbed.

I stood still, confused about my very own decisions, as Blake fell. She made an earth clone of herself below her. Blake jumped off the earth clone. Instead of crashing into the ground, she crashes into a tree's foliage.

It still must not have been a pleasant experience though.

A flock of birds flew out of the tree. Leaves rustled and fell to the ground.

"Gah!" exclaimed Yang.

Huh? Yang's tree?

I ran over, hoping that Yang was okay and that I hadn't hurt Blake too much.

Blake and Yang fell out of the tree just as I reached it. They landed in a heap of jumbled limbs. I skidded to a stop, unsure of what to do.

Blake scrambled to push Yang off of her. She hurried onto her feet.

Blake's entire form was covered with leaves and branches. She flicked a branch off of her sleeve.

Her face was an unnatural shade of red. I'd guess it was from falling from such an altitude.

"Man…" grumbled Yang. She sighed, a hand on her face.

"S-Sorry. Do you need a hand?" Blake asked.

"Sure."

Blake pulled Yang up.

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked. "I'm so sorry, Blake. I didn't mean to…"

Blake gave me a small smile. "I'm fine. Just a little...messy." Her aura flickered. "Yang?"

"Hmph. Falling from a tree isn't nearly enough to take me down." Yang crossed her arms.

"Good. That's good," I said. "I really don't know what got into me…"

"Probably just an off day," said Yang. She didn't look at me. Instead, her eyes were focused on the ground behind me. "Everyone gets those, even me!"

Blake nodded.

"I think...I think I'll withdraw from the competition," I said. "I don't feel very well."

What a feeble excuse. I've _never_ withdrawn from any competition before-even unofficial ones-even when I had been sick.

Yang gave me a wry look. "We're not in school anymore, Pyrrha. You don't have to be so formal."

"Sorry," I said. "Habit."

"Hm. The apologizing can stop too," Yang said. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Sorry."

— _What If I do?_

Yang facepalmed.

Sun jumped down from his tree. "What's up, guys?" He didn't wait for a response. "Pyrrha! That was awesome-uh, sorry Blake-but seriously, what's with those moves?"

"It was an acci-"

— _Practice. I could've done much better._

Sun whistled. "Better, huh?"

Huh? What was-

The headache came back. I clutched my head.

"Pyrrha?" asked Sun.

"Sorry, I-I need to sit down. Good luck, Sun. Tell Ilia I said 'good luck' to her too."

Yang and Blake gave me worried looks.

"'Kay, get better fast, Pyrrha," said Sun. "Maybe you'll come back in time for the ultimate finals!"

"There's only five competitors," Blake said, deadpanned.

I didn't say anything. I'd already began walking back to the Belladonna Vacation Home.

I landed onto the (my) couch and dropped my weapons on the table. My head was still throbbing, but it had faded considerably since its sudden start.

…Sudden migraines. Would the others trust someone who couldn't even stay focused in a fight? What if I was removed from the Haven defense? And for my own good at that?

No, I couldn't get removed, I needed to be there.

That's where JaUNe-

— _The relic!_

"Ugh…" I held my forehead. Another migraine…

A thought had passed by my mind. I was sure of it. It was-It had been _-re-_

Important. It had been important. I'd forgotten something important?

It was that feeling that you had when something was at the tip of your tongue yet you couldn't get it out-as often as that feeling was referred to, that was certainly what I'd felt.

But no-there had been something else to it. I wasn't so unobservant that I'd miss it.

Yes, I'll finally state the facts. I didn't know how I'd managed not to for so long. I knew the truth.

 _That hadn't been my voice._

And if I must consider what I knew, then-

 _It was-her._

 _That woman in the cloak._

 _Sum-_

— _Sorry. Not yet, kiddo._

* * *

It was dinnertime when I woke from my dreamless nap.

I let out a sigh of relief. It had turned into a habit of mine-being relieved when I didn't have any dreams.

I suppose it was only natural-(in my case).

When had I fallen asleep? That's right, there had been the migraines...and I'd gotten the feeling that I forgot something important.

That had been it.

I got up, stretched.

The Belladonnas, Blake, Yang, and Sun were eating at the dinner table.

I wasn't feeling too hungry, so I grabbed a couple of potatoes and went out the backdoor. Evidently, I didn't feel too social either.

The backyard, and by that I mean the entirety of the mountain facing the back of the house, had suffered some damage due to Sun's competition.

It definitely looked worse for wear than before. The front of a tree had been entirely shaved off for one. The clearing was a mess of marks, indents, and fallen foliage. The crater where Yang and Blake landed was still there. That line I'd made in the ground as well.

The area wasn't what I'd call 'soothing and peaceful'.

Hm...the roof of the house was still available. That is, assuming Neo wasn't camping out on it. Well, I could deal with her company. She was usually silent after all… That didn't come out right.

Let me phrase it differently. I've stated that Neo wasn't the type of person you wanted to hang out with. Perhaps I had been wrong. Neo wasn't the type of person you wanted to talk to. She was emotionally draining in the worse ways. But otherwise, she was probably the least bothersome person you could be with. I'd forgotten that I've been in her company for months by this point.

Every single one of my thoughts proved useless as Neo was not on the roof that night.

However, Ilia was. (What had her surname been? Something to do with rainbows, I think.)

Well...I didn't know how to handle this one.

I was about to try and stealthily climb back down the ladder but Ilia had already rounded on me, hand on her hilt. Her skin quickly morphed from blue to tan.

She seemed to always be armed. The regulations part of me thought: _that couldn't be safe-or legal for that matter._

Then I pointed out to myself that _I myself_ had the same problem. In fact, now that I thought about it, I was armed too. When had I even grabbed my weapons?

I decided to be friendly to the person who was ready to strike at any moment (and at me) and said: "Fancy seeing you up here."

Yang would've throttled me for my choice of wording.

Ilia did not. She snorted. "Who even says that anymore?"

I won't lie, that hurt my feelings more than I would've liked to admit. "Uh...may I come up?"

I didn't think Ilia would appreciate a 'may I join you'.

"It's not like I can make you leave, human."

I'd never heard 'human' used as a derogatory term but Ilia managed to be more than successful in doing so.

If this was the norm in the White Fang, it was a wonder that Blake managed to pass as human as long as she did.

I see...this was the cycle of hurt at its finest, wasn't it? Humans treated faunus with prejudice so in turn, the faunus do the same. And when the faunus treat humans with prejudice the humans return the favor. Therein lies a continuous cycle that could, in theory, last forever.

How awful. By their very nature, cycles are logically-speaking simple to break and yet…

Ilia scooted as far away from me as possible. With the ladder on one end of the length house, she managed to get to the farthest possible point on the rooftop.

I tried to give her peace and quiet, I really did. I sat silently eating my potatoes and looking up at the star-filled sky (" _Say, what do you think the stars are? ...I like to think they're everyone...everyone who passed away. They leave their legacy in the sky." "What happens when the star burns out?" "Well...I guess they disappear.")_

However, my stash of potatoes was only so finite and Ilia's attitude towards humans and general dark mood did not soothe and calm me and it most definitely wasn't _peaceful_ either.

I finally decided to break the silence. "So…" I said, which I'd learned was the worst possible way to start _any_ sentence. "Who won Sun's competition?"

I had to be louder than I liked, thanks to how far away Ilia was.

"If you're asking if Sun or I won, the answer is me." There's a hint of pride in Ilia's voice. "You should've expected it. He isn't even close to the field experience I have."

Oh. I suppose someone who grew up(?) in the White Fang would look down on huntsmen-in-training. In Ilia's eyes, did we seem innocent and naive?

"Did anyone else duel?" I asked.

"...I fought the blonde girl-Yang."

Ilia didn't seem too happy about the fact. Though it was certainly an improvement that she called Yang by her name.

"And..?" I pushed.

"Well, technically I won." The brunette wrapped her arms around her legs. A faded shade of blue appeared and disappeared. She mumbled through gritted teeth: "But maybe I-I think I went too far."

"You-"

Ilia glared at me. "Talk to her yourself."

Gah, I hated to say (think) it, but Ilia's ridiculously difficult to talk to…

"Okay," I said. "Okay."

"Hmph."

And awkward silence commenced.

I had half a mind to just leave then. Ilia was awful for my nerves.

Even though we've lived under the same roof for more than a week, I barely knew her. Ilia had taken to avoiding anyone who wasn't a faunus like the plague and didn't talk much to anyone who _was_ a faunus-with the exception of Sun and Blake.

"What drew you to the roof?" I blurted out, just to say something and stop the awful, awkward silence.

Ilia glanced at me, like she was deciding if she wanted me to suffer in silence more or to just tell me. Finally, she sighed and looked up.

"I'm just doing what you want me to do...as always," Ilia muttered. I got the feeling that she wasn't talking to me. "Listen up, uh…"

"Pyrrha," I supplied.

"Pyrrha," she said. "This is embarrassing and you're human, which makes it even worse, okay?"

"Okay?" I was very confused.

Ilia sucked in a breath. She breathed it out. "I'm...just...thinking about...my parents… They…"

Oh. _Oh._ "You're an orphan," I realized.

She glared.

I raised my hands. "M-Me too! Except I don't think about it-them much! I was just too young to get it at the time but y-you must've been older…?"

Ilia muttered something.

"Pardon?"

"Junior High. It was Junior High," Ilia said. "When _it_ happened."

I didn't comment on the _it._ Whatever it was, I was looking at the effect.

Sometimes I thought I was unlucky. Other times, like now, I thought I was beyond lucky. My parents died when I was too small to _realize what death really meant_ and by the time I figured out that _mama and papa weren't coming back,_ I'd already adjusted well enough… It helped that my parents' deaths had been a completely avoidable accident.

— _Not true. Not for me._

A mere wrong turn on the road of fate, so to speak. I'd had no one to blame but my parents then…

But with Ilia, that wasn't the case-was it?

"What were you thinking about?" I asked.

Ilia's mouth forms into a sardonic smirk. "Just the irony of it all. I fought to avenge their deaths, y'know. That's what I always told myself when things got hard-and things got hard a lot. And now look at me, working with humans and defending their schools from _the_ White Fang. My White Fang."

"Oh," I said, voice small. Ilia was more confident than I thought she'd be. Conflicted, yes, but she had this self-assured nature to her…

There's silent, but I found it less awkward than before. I was busy trying wrap my head around Ilia's words.

Finally, I asked: "Do you wish they were alive?"

"Huh?"

"If you had a chance to bring your parents back, would you?"

Ilia looked at the stars, thinking. She doesn't say anything for the longest time.

Maybe I had asked the wrong question, too intrusive, too-

"No."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ilia turned her head so she was facing me. "No. I don't think I'd bring them back. I've royally screwed up their memory, Pyrrha. When I think about my parents, I don't think I'm seeing _them._ I'm just looking at a martyr. Something to justify everything I did and will do." Ilia laughed hollowly. "Maybe that's the beauty of dead people. You can turn their image into whatever you want it to be. Dead people don't contradict you or force you to see who they really are, after all. There's no 'real' for them. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but if I saw my parents in the afterlife-I don't think I'd recognize them."

I thought Ilia was done, but she added: "And besides, the way I see it, you get one chance and you're done forever. It's not very fair to give someone a second chance, is it?"

"..." I didn't comment on that one. How could I?

Ilia stopped actively avoiding me after that night on the roof. She still never said 'thank-you' for the incident in the Belladonna Manor, but I didn't mind too much. I was just glad that she didn't hate me for being human anymore. Still, she wasn't too keen on Yang and I found out why from Blake.

Blake winced. "Ilia...went a little overboard with Yang. We had to call off the fight."

"Oh," I said.

"She's getting better," Blake promised. "Adjusting. She just needs more time." Blake's eyes were fierce, like she had something to prove.

Later, I found Ilia apologizing to Yang in the kitchen when they were alone. Yang waved off her apology and I saw that there was a new long crack in her prosthetic arm.

This time, I managed to sneak away.

* * *

 _I found myself in darkness. Devoid of color, even black. The only words I could find to describe it was: 'floating in infinity space'._

 _I knew this place. I had felt as though I'd been here for an eternity-I thought I_ would _stay here for eternity._

 _Death._

" _Not exactly."_

I have no body, no eyes, no ears but I could hear-

 _And suddenly, I did have a body. I look at my hand and it began shaking._

 _This was-_

 _This was-_

 _My real body? The one that had been lost in ashes?_

" _It is lost. Forever."_

 _I look up. In front of me was...me. No, an older version of the body I had been using for the last few months. I'd gotten so used to it that it had become disorientating to see it used by someone else. Like an out-of-body experience, and yet it definitely wasn't._

" _Jeez, I got the poetic type."_

 _The body spoke and I realized it had silver eyes._

 _Oh. Yes, the truth I'd been denying-_

" _Summer Rose"_

" _Eh. You figured it out a long time ago, kid. It was a pain erasing your memory each time…"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Easy at the same time though." She waved her hand. "Your denial made it a lot simpler."_

" _I don't-"_

" _No, I guess you don't. There's a lot of things you don't understand, isn't there?"_

 _I didn't know how to answer that. I wasn't getting the feeling that she was mocking me but…_

" _Yeah, people have said that I'm too painfully honest. I don't think it's a bad thing though. If you can't handle honesty, this world isn't for you. That's how I see it."_

 _That..._

" _Cutthroat? Yes. Truth? Yes."_

 _She really was cutthroat._

" _Let's get to the point, kiddo. You see...it's only a matter of time before I take back control of my body." Summer Rose was smiling as she told me her truth. It was sweet, kind, like a doctor giving some bad news to a child who could barely comprehend them._

 _She was right. I didn't understand. "What-"_

" _It's simple. You've already been feeling the effects. Even from the beginning when I was barely conscious. There will be a moment in the future when you and I switch places. When you become the observer and I the player."_

 _My mind is racing. The implication of this was-_

" _But before then, the line between our souls will become blurry and disorientating. That's why I'm here now, so I can prepare you for that moment when we switch places. It'll go a lot smoother if you're willing."_

" _Willing?" The words stumble out of my fake tongue. "I can't-I mean-I don't want to-my team-Jaune-"_

" _I told you, it's only a matter of time." She's staring into my eyes-maybe even my soul. "Kid, I have a duty to protect the world. I need to-well, it's complicated and I don't have the time to bring out the history books right now, but I need to get back out there. For peace and freedom and all that."_

She gave a ludicrous claim, 'protect the world'?, yet instinctively, I felt that she was telling the truth.

" _And besides," Summer Rose gave me her reassuring smile. "It's not like I resurrected you out of the pure goodness of my heart or anything like that. No one's that naive."_

* * *

"Pyrrha!"

I jumped and fell off my couch. Registering the fact that I was indeed awake and that I had indeed dreamed about Summer Rose and 'the switch', I turned queasy. "Wha-What…"

Yang had her arms crossed.

— _Yang._

"We're leaving for Haven today, remember?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

I- _what?_

 _No. No, no, no, no, no._

— _Finally._

* * *

 **AN: Phew, this was a big and important chapter! Haven't even proofread it yet (besides Grammarly), but dammit, I'm an hour behind schedule and I want to get this out there.**

 **Also, my twitter changed because I got banned from twitter. What can you do?**

 **I SERIOUSLY NEED SLEEP. IT'S ONE IN THE MORNING!**

 **09/17/2018: Okay, I'm back and I got some sleep. Now I have a raging headache though (is that ironic?).**

 **Gotta get bro to proofread.**

 **I've read some of the new reviews and I'm pretty happy with how Summer turned out. I'm planning to make her a fully-flessed three-dimensional character.**

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **j** **onji1762: Mwahahahahahaha-did you expect this?**

 **Nerd315: indeed~**

 **Phalanx30: because Neo was never even supposed to be in the show to begin with? Monty kinda just put her in there.**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: the answer is 'yes'**

 **Xellos1: Cool, man. I love that you enjoy it! As for your question, I think that's in the Spoiler Gods territory.**

 **merendinoemilliano: oosh, Ron Weasley of RWBY…**

 **Firestar001: No bonus points for me...but tell me the reference…?**

 **darkvampirekisses: hm, hm.**

 **KuletXCore: That chapter is coming up real soon. Menagerie Arc has finally wrapped up!**

 **Gizmo Gear: What even is lyfe indeed.**

 **grifman275: heh, I go on poetic tangents sometimes too. Everyone just looks at me weird after...And final fate, huh? You've got something there.**

* * *

 **Twitter: AroszJoker**

 **Please Review, Fav, and Follow and encourage my all-nighters.**


	18. Chp XVII: Back

**Chp XVII: Back**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

 **"Close your eyes now, time for dreams/Death is never what it seems." ~ 'Sacrifice' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

I paced in circles around the _Pride of Sirens_ (it had been quite the coincidence that the boat that took Yang, Neo, and I to Mistral would be the same boat that took Blake and Sun to Menagerie, maybe fate really does exist in some capacity). I'd gotten a few weird looks from the crew and the faunus.

I didn't particularly care.

 _There will be a moment in the future where you and I switch places._

I was biting my lip. I wiped away the blood.

What…do I...do?

...What can I do?

No matter how you put it, I-I was _definitely supposed to be dead._ And by extension, _I'm only taking the body of another person._

In other words, I was the one in the wrong here.

So…

I understood then.

* * *

—… _It's not that I don't feel bad for this girl, alright? I'm not a monster-I'm not_ her _._

 _But there's no victory without sacrifice and this is the sacrifice._

 _I'll give her some time. I understand._

 _Sometimes, you just wish there had been more time._

* * *

I was a nervous wreck.

I had a plan (though it would be hard to define it as a _plan)._

I'd be fine.

Neo had her arms draped on the railings. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. She glanced at me. I felt strange, under her split-second stare.

Where would Neo go after my short-lived journey came to an end…?

Hunting after _her_ maybe.

I shook my head. There was no reason to be thinking about a future I-

* * *

— _You want the truth? I don't really remember how I died. I guess I always thought I was invincible. Untouchable._

 _I thought I had a destiny to be fulfilled._

 _It only took ten years or so, but I guess I will fulfill my destiny in the end._

 _Ha. Not very many people can say they've lived twice._

* * *

I avoided Yang. I wasn't about to explain to her that I was the thing that stood between her and her mother, or step-mother anyhow.

Maybe I was being selfish. Maybe she deserved to know. But...it won't matter in the end.

I found the highest point of the _Pride of Sirens._ It was a small deck and I was blissfully alone, for the most part.

Sun waved at me. "The view's great!"

Well, the sun _was_ setting.

It wasn't a great idea to pull off a defense in the dark but I suppose we had no choice. A group of highly armed faunus surrounding Haven would certainly give off the wrong impression. All we could do was wait for the White Fang to attack first.

"I'm surprised you aren't with Blake," I said. Maybe a conversation would do me good.

Sun shrugged. "She's got her partner back…"

In that case-"Where _is_ your Team?"

"Um...Somewhere…?" Sun's tail sagged. "Okay, so that wasn't my proudest moment. I really _really_ didn't mean to leave them by themselves and I know I'm an irresponsible leader and blah, blah, blah…"

He started pacing. "I get it! I should've been better. 'Sun, you're always leaving us behind. We're your teammates…' I'm basically doing what Blake's doing!"

I blinked. "Um...Excuse me?"

"Gah! You didn't hear any of that!"

...Wasn't he just answering my question?

"Okay…" I leaned on the railing. "In which case...what will you do once Blake is reunited with her team?"

"That's easy, I'm gonna get back together with Team SSSN." Sun punched a fist into his palm. He looked at the ground. "Neptune's not gonna be happy…"

Neptune, Neptune, Neptune...Ah, the one with the unfortunate fear of water!

"Or Scarlet...Or Sage…"

"Do you...regret traveling with Blake?"

"Wha-?! No! Never! Traveling with Blake is _great."_

I furrowed my brows. "Okay…"

Sun kicked at the floor. "Um…"

Well, this was awkward.

I wondered-did Neo regret traveling with me?

* * *

— _Did I ever regret anything?_

 _I don't see the point in regretting. Either you did or you didn't, there is no 'if'._

 _No, the right word should be 'wish'. I wish things had gone differently._

 _I don't really remember a time where I didn't 'wish' for a different outcome._

 _Oh well, all I can do is look to the future and make my dreams a reality._

 _There's nothing I can't do._

* * *

Night fell too quickly for my liking. Mistral's shore grew larger by the second.

(Un)fortunately, Haven lied on top of the highest mountain in Mistral-quite literally the farthest part of the city from the shore. Ghira and Kali planned for the police to pick us up in aircrafts… How they managed to the police department to go with this frankly ludicrous plan was beyond me.

"Man am I glad we aren't climbing up that thing," said Yang. She pointed at the mountain.

Ah yes, Yang, Blake, and a nonplussed Ilia had joined Sun and I on the upper deck.

"We have elevators," Sun told her.

Yang squinted. "Oh. That makes sense."

"Yeah, only insane people actually climb the city." Sun frowned. "Which I did. Because I didn't know there were elevators."

Ilia and Blake stood to the side. They were going over the plan-of-action once we reached Haven.

I believe Ilia had to do something important, though I never did find out what.

Well, I shouldn't barge into other people's business anyway.

 _Don't worry,_ all I had to do was stop the White Fang.

Unless _she_ appeared.

And… I didn't want to see Jaune there.

* * *

— _What's Taiyang and Qrow been up to these days? I'm really looking forward to seeing them again… Well, I already saw Taiyang but that didn't really count, did it?_

 _We're almost at Haven. It's only really a matter of time._

 _See, the Relic of Knowledge is there-_

* * *

My footing was unsteady as I walked off the _Pride of Sirens._ I...Did I want to do this anymore? No, it doesn't matter what I want. I had to. I had an obligation to see this through.

Summer Rose had been blissfully silent since that dream, but that didn't mean she wasn't present-

* * *

— _Why this girl?_

 _Compatible auras, of course. Raising yourself from the dead should be impossible-it's stupid to make it even harder by trying to raise yourself into an incompatible body._

 _Heh, naturally this means that Pyrrha Nikos is quite like me._

* * *

"Oi, Pyrrha, don't get the butterflies now."

I shook my head. Yang was already boarding an aircraft-when had the police force aircrafts even got there? This meant- _no, don't think about that now._

I sprinted up to the vehicle. Neo, already leaning on the wall, tilted her head. ' _What a slowpoke.'_

"Just nervous," I muttered.

She raised an eyebrow. ' _Try to enjoy the finer things in life.'_

"...This could hardly be called the finer things in life."

A policewoman looked up and down between her scroll and Neo. I couldn't see her face, but her eyebrows were furrowed. Luckily, the faunus were quickly filing in.

I looked to Neo and motioned at the policewoman. Neo shrugged. She was still...a highly dangerous criminal responsible for the Fall and probably more than that.

I'd never really asked Neo about her past… Maybe I should have.

Kali clapped her hands. She got the attention of the faunus. "Let's go over our operation again," she said. "Someone tell me what we do."

No one raised their voice or their hand. They were all nervous wrecks, even Yang, who was busy glowering. _The White Fang was responsible for her arm, remember?_

Kali sighed. "Remember, we've been separated into five groups. Group One will-"

 _Plans, plans, plans. I have mine for sure._

 _I always have mine._

 _I've put in the variables. From the mind of this girl, it looks like_ _ **she's**_ _got a new underling._

 _An interesting underling too. Responsible for the Fall of Beacon._

 _I'm going to have to pay her back for that one._

We're Group Four. We would take the White Fang out from behind. The policewoman told us that they didn't know if the White Fang was the party that had attacked Haven. They only knew that Haven had been attacked-and that was only from an anonymous phone call and a drone check (the drone had promptly been destroyed by the attackers). Strangely, an SOS hadn't been sent from the school. Not a good sign, prepare for the worse.

She hadn't been very good at lifting morals

This was a fifteen minute flight-only five minutes were left by the time she and Kali were done explaining the situation.

The policewoman waded through the crowd, almost like she was looking for someone.

Neo turned on her faunus disguise.

The policewoman stalked past her. She stopped at me. "Excuse me, but have you seen a girl, quite small. Two toned hair? I thought I saw her around here."

"Uh...I…" I glanced at Neo. She flipped me...the bird. I winced. "Ah, no I haven't ma'am…"

"Anyone suspicious?"

"N-No?"

The policewoman nodded. "If you do, please feel free to tell me."

"Of course…"

She left. I let out a sigh of relief. Then I turned to Neo. "Have you met her before?"

' _I dunno, I've met a lot of police.'_

"That's not a good thing."

 _Landing. I'll let her take care of the White Fang._

 _Could've sworn they were a peaceful faction though._

* * *

Our aircraft flew around the mountain. The policewoman yelled orders into her radio.

"Get ready!" exclaimed Kali.

I tensed and grabbed my swords by their hilts. Neo grinned and stretched. Yang clenched and unclenched her hands.

The aircraft's turbines turned towards the ground. I felt my ears popped as we ascended into the air.

We flew up behind Haven. I've been to the academy before, to collect awards, but I've never…

I'd forgotten how grand it was. It wasn't nearly as large as Beacon, but even so, it dwarfed the Mistralian settlements underneath it in size and intricacy.

White Fang soldiers, or so I'd assume from their Grimm masks, whirled around. They were scattered on the grounds of the school. Some of them were planting...bombs?

"Go, go, go!" ordered Kali.

Suddenly, I was on the ground.

— _Make this quick, girl. I don't have the patience to wait anymore. Not when we're_ _ **right here.**_

I lunged at the nearest White Fang and slashed his gun in two. I kicked him in the stomach and he went flying.

There was an energy surging through me. _Adrenaline-_ almost like I was anticipating something.

Neo landed on a White Fang soldier. She flicked her arm, her umbrella shot out of her sleeve and she twirled it experimentally.

Yang punched a soldier in the face. Her eyes glinted red.

"Yang! Stay calm!" I yelled.

"I _am_ calm!" She kneed a soldier in his private area.

The rest of Group Four surged forward, barreling through the White Fang. The White Fang didn't stand a chance. They were outnumbered 1:10.

What a small group…

I rushed to where I thought I saw bombs being planted. ...Those were definitely bombs.

I kneeled. Uh...red, blue, or green? Which wire… Racking my brain for any answer… I reached out to the bomb-

"Don't touch, idiot!"

I jumped. The wall was...moving? "Oh, Ilia…"

"That's my name," Ilia grumbled. "Move it. I'm getting rid of the bombs."

"Ah...that's what you were to do…"

"Did you hit your head or something?" Ilia cut away the red wire and quickly pulled out the green one.

"No…" I was just feeling a little dazed, that's all.

"Then what are you doing standing around? I haven't killed us all so far so you can go help everyone else."

"R-Right." Dazed, dizzy...fuzzy mind.

— _Aw, shoot. Calm down. I'm getting ahead of myself here._

 _Just a few more minutes..._

I disarmed a soldier. Neo smacked him with her umbrella. He dropped to the floor.

"Was that the last of them?" I asked.

' _Here? Looks like it.'_

Yang walked over. "Ramus got the signal from Blake. We're supposed to go to that courtyard place now right?"

I shook my head. " _We_ weren't supposed to. Because we're human, remember?"

' _How racist,'_ Neo quipped.

"Ah, no. There's a legitimate concern-"

' _I know.'_

I sighed. "Of course you did…"

Yang glowered. "I think Blake has a different reason for me."

 _A pretty good reason, if I had to guess._

"So what do we do now?" asked Yang. "Just stand around?"

Neo grinned. ' _A little birdy told me that a certain sister might just be here.'_

Wait-what were you doing Neo?!

Yang blinked owlishly. She paused then: "WHAT?!"

She grabbed Neo by the ends of her shirt. "What do you mean by that?!"

Neo tilted her head. ' _White Fang = Bastard Asshole Lady = Sister.'_

Should I...interfere?

Yang released Neo. "Where?!"

' _Ahhhh...If I had to take a wild guess… Definitely the main building.'_

In other words, the building we were right behind?

— _In other words, the building we're right behind!_

Yang was already dashing towards the building.

"Wai-!"

— _Fuck the waiting!_

My legs followed Yang on their own merits and suddenly, I was rushing in too.

' _Look at the enthusiasm of today's kids,'_ remarked Neo.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "We can't use the front door, we'd mess up the plan-"

Yang smashed through the wall. She jumped into the building.

"W-Well that solves the problem…" I followed her in. Neo sprinted silently behind me.

Yang didn't smash her way through walls after that little incident. We used the hallway.

" _Where_ in the main building?" demanded Yang.

— _Grand Hall!_

"Grand Hall? Where's that?" Yang looked back at me.

"I..um…"

"Ah, whatever! It's probably in the front!"

We swept pass various classes and winded through the hallways, and finally-

— _?!_

W-What was this?!

"Ruby!" Yang yelled.

— _Ruby!_

"E-eh?!" Ruby Rose nearly tripped, instead, she turned into a flurry of rose petals and reappeared on her feet.

I was...still processing what I was seeing. I couldn't-what-

 _H-Her-She was standing-_

"Raven. Let's go." _She dropped something-no, someone._

 _White hair. Pale. Short. Heiress._

 _Weiss._

I couldn't move, completely frozen in place out of fear.

 _Pathetic._

Some part of my mind registered that _Jaune_ was _here._ And Ren. And Nora. This wasn't how-shouldn't have been how-

— _Pathetic._

Yang's eyes widened. "W-Wha…"

Neo surged forward. She thrusted out her umbrella.

 _Clang!_

"This is a surprise," snarled Emerald. Neo glared.

In my fear-ridden mind, all I could think was: _the gang's all here..._

 _The woman, Raven Branwen,_ and a brown-haired girl walked onto a platform.

"Leave Ruby alive. This won't take long." Smirking, _she_ pulled a lever and they descended into the ground.

 _What do I...do?_

"Weiss!" Ruby screamed. She appeared by her partner's side. Jaune ran towards them, falling on his knees. _Jaune...But no, I couldn't. I didn't want to-shouldn't..._

"OZPIN!" A giant man ripped off his vest. He grabbed two dusk crystals and stabbed them into his arms. He charged at a boy ⅓ his size.

— _Oh, fucking hell._

Neo flipped Emerald onto the ground. She ran towards the ground where the platform had been.

A man, red eyes, black hair, blocked the giant man with his scythe. He slammed into a pillar.

Summer Rose opened my mouth. " **Flown North!"**

Qrow? stiffened. He looked in my direction, eyes widening. I was already moving. One step and I disappeared from the world.

I appeared above the large man. Qrow fired his scythe. My feet slam into the man's head.

"GAH!" He stumbled backward, covering his face.

"Summer…?"

I dropped to the ground. " **Long time no see, squinty eyes."**

... _squinty eyes?_

"What, but how-"

The ground shook.

" **Hm…"**

The platform appeared back on the floor.

" **Get out of the way!"** Summer- _we?_ teleported onto the platform and kicked the lever.

Neo stared.

"S-Sorry!" I...What was I doing?

The platform descended into the ground.

 _She_ was there. And I was quite practically walking into the lion's den.

 _Not her. Stop it. Anything but her. Not again. I can't-_

— _Yes you can. Fight your fears, girl. Also, I seriously can't deal with this right now._

 _That was a little rude… No, it's...what if we die because of me?_

— _As if I'd let myself die again._

 _But-fire…_

— _Look, just let me handle this. Everything will be fine._

And I did.

The platform shook. I held onto the golden bars that surrounded us.

A few seconds later, the cause of the disturbances was revealed.

— _Oh?_

 _Huh…?_

Raven Branwen and _that woman_ were locked in harsh combat. They jumped from falling rocks to falling rocks, _that woman_ making fire weapons out of thin air and Branwen switching between dust blades.

It was a stark contrast to the beautiful setting underneath them. Glowing autumn trees

More rocks crashed against the ground, causing the platform to shake again.

I stepped away from the front of the platform.

Branwen kicked _her_ in the stomach. She flew through the air and onto another rock. Branwen jumped on, rushing forward with the upper hand.

— _...The bastard's become a Maiden. Who the fuck approved that?_

 _Maiden?_ Raven's eyes _were_ emitting dangerous red flames. _No matter, what do we_ do?

— _Let them fight it out. We don't want to_ get _involved in that mess._

 _That woman_ parried Branwen's attacks. She thrusted herself into the air. Branwen followed. She formed another dust blade and slashed.

— _They're not going to last for much longer._

The platform landed on the ground. The golden bars opened for us.

— _Find a place to hide._

I stared at the limp body in front of a tall golden door.

Wasn't that- _the girl from before?_

The one that came down with _her_ and Branwen?

 _I should check to see if she's okay…_

— _We're not going to be very okay if Raven or Cinder spots us!_

I jolted at the name. _B-But…_

— _You can't save anyone if you're dead, girl. Well, unless you're me, but since you aren't…_

I looked away and hid behind a rock.

Summer Rose had a point. Or that's what I thought to convince myself it was okay to run and hide anyhow.

Three large stalactites slammed into the ground. They sent shockwaves throughout the cavern. The smoke cleared away, revealing _that woman_ and Branwen on the floor, panting.

Branwen stood up. "Had enough yet?"

"Shut up!" _That woman's_ aura flickered. She looked...worse for ware.

 _No, don't feel for her._

"Heh. If you were stronger or more clever, then maybe...you'd remember to watch your back!"

 _She_ glared. Then whirled around. The limp girl raised her weapon and fired. _That woman_ blocked the attack with a sword. Branwen used the opportunity to lunge forward. She grabbed _that woman's_ face and lightning shot out of her hand. It shattered _that woman's_ mask and sent her flying over the edge of the chasm. Branwen looked over the chasm. She held out a hand. Ice shot into the abyss.

Branwen kneeled next to the girl. "Thank you, Vernal…" She closed the girl's eyes.

—… _hm?_

Branwen walked up to the door. It seemed to glow brighter the closer she was.

 _Do we…_

— _Wait for it._

Raven Branwen held out a hand to the door. The door clinked. Its flowery petals began to rotate out of the way. It revealed a...desert? on the other side. There's a pathway leading to a stone pedestal that held a golden lamp.

 _What is that…?_

Raven walked into the chamber.

— _Now!_

 _What?_

In a burst of power, Summer made us stand up. " **Hello, Raven."**

Branwen slowly turned around. "Summer."

We walked up to her. Summer's mind took control-I couldn't stop her, and I didn't particularly want to either. This...I wasn't getting in between this situation. It wouldn't be...appropriate. " **We were partners once."**

"More than partners."

" **Not anymore."**

"No." Branwen narrowed her eyes. "I shouldn't be so surprised-that you would resort to such low methods to come back."

" **You're one to talk. I'm trying to** _ **protect**_ **the world and you-all you ever thought about was yourself!"**

"It's better than you're thinking that you're holier-than-thou and can do no wrong," snapped Branwen. Her expression darkened. "You should've stayed dead."

" **Huh. I forgot how much of a bastard you are."**

"I forgot how self-centered you are."

" **...You know what? I can't deal with this. Run away like you always do, Raven. I've got something more important to do then talk with you."**

"And what exactly do you and Ozpin plan to do with the relic?" Branwen stood next to the lamp.

" **Does it matter to you?"**

"No," Branwen consented. "Humanity is doomed either way, I suppose."

 _Humanity is-doomed either way?_

"I'll take my leave," said Branwen. "The last thing I need is Salem on my back."

" **What's with opening the chamber then?"**

Branwen shrugged. "Maybe I wanted something different. Does it matter to you?"

" **Guess not."**

" _Don't you dare touch Yang."_ Branwen disappeared. Her portal faded away after her.

Summer tilted our head. " **Bastard."**

 _What was Summer Rose?_

" **Well, let's get this over with."** Summer walked up to the pedestal. She held out a hand and grabbed the lamp. " **Activate…"**

 _Activa-?_

Something pulled at me and then-

* * *

I stretch. I clench and unclench my fists.

This feels good.

It feels new, better, improved.

I walk out of the chamber, rolling my arms. The Relic of Knowledge is in my right hand-I try not to swing that one as much.

But it's refreshing and I can't get enough of it.

I'm definitely justified here. It's been a very long time since I had a body.

I walk onto the platform and pull the lever. The gates close around me and I rise into the air.

I grin.

After eleven long agonizing years, Summer Rose is back-

 _And this time, she's not going anywhere._

 **A/N: This is a short chapter but it somehow took me three times the time to write. For one, I redid the ending scene three times and I'm still iffy about how it turned out. -_-.**

 **Ah well, I'd rather not delay the story and fall down a month long writer's block again so I guess I'll put it in the 'if I ever redo SNE' camp...**

 **Oh, and the switch in tense between Pyrrha and Summer is totally intentional. I thought it would be a cool literary device to use.**

 **Also, really loved the feedback on Summer.**

 **Reviewer Responses:**

 **TacoKing23: Nyahahahaha. Sadly, smacking Summer would also mean smacking Pyrrha.**

 **Guest: So I shall...**

 **Nerd315: Hm, hm...**

 **Xellos1: =) =) =)**

 **Summer-Rose-RWBY: Will do!**

 **meeyaaargh3412: Your username scares me, lol. And yes-I think they have been.**

 **Guest: I think they're fairly even in terms of power. But from what I thought, Ilia is more trained to actually 'hurt' than Yang's 'fight for fun or fight Grimm' so it came down to mental disposition.**

 **merendinoemilliano: *thumbs up***

 **KuletXCore: Spacebattles? That's a forum site right...? And yeah, shit just got real.**

 **jonj1762: You got it, dude.**

 **hirshja: Everything around Summer's condition will be explained soon... (And yes, I have to admit, a lot has been retconned (much like the show itself, though that isn't an excuse) There won't be any more retconning in the future now that I have an ending in mind though, so here's to that). And _technically,_ you can read it as Summer saying that she's 'getting the second chance she never had'. Either way, I still don't want to change anything to the chapters that came before. Even so, thank you so much for being such an attentive reader!**

 **A Simpleton: Uh...maybe not for the lols now, but I like that: 'Harbringer' mode (also, did you know that's the name of Qrow's weapon?).**

 **grifman275: Interesting theory... And I'm glad someone's justifying Summer's actions (after all, she's supposed to be reasonable and hey, now I've made Raven understandable so...). As for the question, that shall be answered soon!**

 **RedShirt1453: Well, everyone enjoys some mind-fuckery! As for inter-body struggle...all I will say is: not quite _yet._**

 **JamCom: Lmao, though I think she has some 'Lawful-Good' in there too...**

* * *

 **Twitter if you want to contact me for any reason: aroszjoker**

 **Reviews, Favourites, and Follows make writing worth it! (But writing is fun anyways so maybe it's just a bonus...?)**


	19. Chp XVIII: Here

**Chp XVIII: Here**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Anguish you'll know for your miserable plight/Soon you'll bemoan your mistake of a life." ~ 'Ignite' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

The elevator ride is slow and I'm tempted to just teleport my way back to the Grand Hall. But that didn't sound too safe with the Relic of Knowledge, did it? What a pity, it would've been quite epic…

I raise the relic to my eyes. It glows dimly, a side effect of having been used. It can't be easy…fixing an incomplete soul. Ah well, it'll recover-as all things eventually do.

The Grand Hall slowly comes to view and finally, the platform halts to a stop.

Qrow flies past me and crashes into a wall.

Huh.

I look in the direction he came from. So Hazel was still kicking.

"ARRGHHHHHHH!"

Yup. Definitely still kicking. His clothes are tattered and he's breathing hard, but he's still standing with confidence. I would expect nothing less from a servant of _that monster._ Though he must be quite dense… What type of idiot works for the monster that killed his own sister? It's a shame too, Gretchen was so smart.

I'm stuck in a dilemma. On the one hand, I want to join in the fight and on the other hand (literally), I have to keep the Relic of Knowledge safe.

A little boy raises his head in my direction. He looks like a generic shepherd who had no place on a battlefield but… "The Relic of Knowledge… You never fail to surprise me, Summer."

I beam. "What can I say? Surprises are my strong suit. But seriously, what happened to you, Oz? Who kicked your butt this time around?"

He winces. "...And still as tactless as ever, I see."

The motion in the Grand Hall falters to a stop one-by-one as each occupant notices me and the Relic of Knowledge.

"M-Mom…?"

...There's something to say about a reunion with a daughter you never thought you'd see again. It makes me feel… Well, I don't know _what_ to feel and-

 _Don't you remember the smoke? Their dying screams? The monsters that never heeded their cruelty? You didn't know how to feel then and-_

Yes. I'll deal with my darling later. _I'd sort out these feelings later._

Something else catches my attention. A green haired girl. She stares at me. Her eyes glance at the relic. They begin to tear up.

"W-What happened to Cinder?" She backs away and almost tumbles into her friend, a silver-haired teen. "WHAT HAPPENED TO CINDER?!"

Yang (she looks a lot like Raven now, all grown up as she is) drops her fighting stance. She steps away from the pair, looking quite startled.

"She fell down a cliff," I answer the girl. "It's actually very ironic. Hm...Very punny too."

You can't beat a good pun.

Tears stream down the girl's face. She collapses onto her knees and grabs her head.

Uh...Maybe I went too far on that one… (though it comes as a mild surprise that _someone_ missed Cinder).

The silver-haired boy looked down at the girl. "Emerald, get up, _get up._ We need to go!"

"..." The girl shakes. Then she screams: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The room flickers. Smoke rises from the floor. Is this—the girl's semblance?

 _Black smoke in the sky, never ending-_

Oh, but then she has to go and put the icing on the cake!

A monstrosity, no-the _true monster_ appears. The final boss makes an early appearance on Level 1, you could say.

I _might_ have lost my shit—a little. Just a little.

It comes out twisted and deformed, a complete mockery of _that monster._ Then it cracks and it corrects itself into _the right form._

It stares at me-mocks me, _you'll never escape me, Summer Rose._

I fling White Rose at its face.

 _Die!_

It lets out a gods-awful screech.

But I have the feeling it's not because of White Rose. It's condescending. It says: _You'll always lose to me._

Then it vanishes-into ashen smoke. How spiteful.

 _I'll kill you, Salem. If it's the last thing I do._

The Grand Hall comes back into color. The green-haired girl faints. Her face makes impact with the ground.

I'm wheezing. I feel dizzy. I don't...I don't like this. I stagger and grab onto the railing for support.

 _Clang!_ White Rose clatters to the ground. It sends echoes through the room.

"W-What was that?" Faunus girl, Blake, asks. Her hands are shaking, I notice. ...

I don't think she's talking about White Rose.

Salem's servants are mysteriously missing from the building. Those bastards, taking the time to escape in a moment of confusion (and just confusion). Cowards.

"That was Salem," I tell the faunus drily. "That thing is a bitch."

I'm not in the mood to explain what a 'Salem' _is_ so I don't expand on my seven-word explanation.

Blake's parents and the monkey boy run into the Grand Hall. The Belladonnas embraced in a family hug while monkey boy stands to the side. He must be feeling quite awkward, eh?

Oh, wait…

"...Mom?"

…

…

…

She's staring at me with big eyes… (it's adorable).

Gah...How do I react to this?

I'm not good at this type of stuff.

Help me, Qrow! ...Or Oz.

"Um…" I mutter to myself. I straighten and cough. "...Hello."

Yang stares, but she looks away and runs to a white hair girl's side.

"Mom!" Ruby turns into a flurry of roses and tackles me. I nearly lose my footing. She buries her face in my shoulder. "I-I don't."

I pat her on the back awkwardly. "Well...What's important is that I'm back?"

How is a parent supposed to act in this situation? What do you do when you return from the dead to your (probably) traumatized (and wow, what the hell? She's all grown up!) daughter? I don't think that one's in the kids handbook (I'd know, I read more of those than I could count).

"You're going to have to explain this one, Sum," says Qrow. He hobbles over, a hand covering his side.

I look up. Qrow's a lot easier to deal with than Ruby (a lot less emotions). "I will," I say. "But uh...I'm a little busy right now."

I look down at Ruby. She's crying. ...Uhh...

Qrow holds out a hand. I hand (pun intended) him the Relic of Knowledge. "Well, it looks like you two need a mother-daughter moment."

Then he leaves.

Wait...What?

Ruby sniffles. "I missed you so much, Mom…"

I… "I missed you too, kiddo." I ruffled her hair. "Look at you, you're all grown up now."

And I missed most of it.

I wasn't...there. I left her all alone. In this...hellhole of a world.

Just like my parents did with me.

I grit my teeth and pull Ruby closer. "I'm never leaving you again, okay?"

"I-Is that a promise?"

"Yeah, a pinky promise."

 _Don't make promises you can't keep, you idiot._

 _Shut up. I can't help it._

* * *

After that...touching moment, I teleport over to Qrow. He's cradling Oz in his arms.

"...Wow, so he really reincarnated." I tilt my head.

"Says the girl that came back from the dead," deadpans Qrow. He stares.

"What?"

"You're crying."

I frown. "No, I'm not."

I touch my face. There was definitely liquid. I wipe it away. "I-It's probably just sweat."

"...Yeah, sure." Qrow mutters. "You're not fooling anyone."

"...Shut up." A pause. I finally ask, "Qrow, what the hell do I do with Ruby and Yang?! I don't know how to-"

Qrow shrugs. "I dunno. Ask Taiyang."

"Oh gods, Taiyang." I feel the urge to slam my head into something. "I can't handle this…"

"Look, I'm just as bad as you with this emotional stuff," says Qrow. He throws Oz over his shoulder and stands up. "That's why we're called the dysfunctional team, remember?"

I frown. "I thought it was 'unhinged'."

"Eh. Yeah, that too." Qrow starts walking to the entrance. "I'll talk to the police, yeesh they're late, you deal with the kids."

I blink. "What? No!"

Qrow throws up a lazy arm. "Deal with it."

"I'm your leader!"

"You're ten years younger than me." Qrow frowns. "Did I get the math right?"

I blink. "How old is Ruby?"

"Sixteen."

I frown. "So...Wait… Wait, she hasn't even gone to Beacon yet?"

"No. She got accepted early."

"She got WHAT?!" In other words: "Ozpin did WHAT?!"

"...Weren't you accepted early too?"

"I _lived_ there!" I glare at Ozpin's new body. He's going to take a beating when he wakes up…

I huff and turn, teleporting to the kids.

They're crowded around the white haired girl. I look over an orange head's shoulder. Ruby and Yang kneels by the girl's side and a blonde has his hands on her, he's doing something with his aura. It felt like he was...making her aura stronger-boosting it? Whatever it was, the girl's wounds are healing—and she has a lot of wounds.

From a simple scan, it looks like most of them are burn marks, scattered across the body.

— _Weiss? Jaune?_

I wince. What the fuck was tha… Oh, I see. It wasn't...anything relevant.

Anyways, one thing's for sure. Those wounds…weren't going away anytime soon. No matter how much you heal her. The girl's face is twisted in agony and blood pools around her figure.

I look away. _She reminds me—of then. Those figures on the street. All of them will never—_

"What happened?" I ask, even though I have a good idea.

" _Cinder,"_ the blonde boy growls.

Hm...That woman seems to be the center of everyone's problem. How irritating.

"It's not going to do any good if you leave her laying on the ground like that," I say. "No matter how much you boost her aura."

The blonde pauses. He looks down at his hands. "B-But-"

I sigh. "Let's take her to the police. I'm sure they have doctors."

They probably don't. The police are famously unreliable, but they have their uses. Not letting a girl bleed to her death, for example.

"Who are you?!" The ginger jumps back.

"Summer," I say (this will be a thing, won't it?). "I'll move the girl."

"Weiss." Yang looks up. Her eyes are red (literally) and she doesn't hide her desperation. "Her name is Weiss."

That sounds familiar. Eh, a lot of names sound familiar. I pull the blonde's hands away from Weiss—and the girl's entire composure gets worse. Somehow, she turns even paler than her already deathly whiteness. This was going to be harder than I thought. I put the blonde's hands back on the girl.

"Hold on," I say. I scoop the girl in my hands (I'm going to need to take a shower after this).

The blonde blinks. "Wha-"

We teleport over to the entrance of Haven Academy.

The blonde proceeds to throw up all over the floor. At least he has the common sense to turn his head and still keep his hands on the girl.

"Weiss?!" Blake runs over. "Oh gods…"

"Get the officers," I say.

Blake starts. She looks at me. "Wh-"

Ah, that's right-she _knows._ I'll have to look out for her…

"Go!"

"R-Right!" Blake runs outside.

I shake my head. Transporting more than myself is such a drain...

A few minutes later, an emergency team rushes in. They put the girl on the stretcher and keep the blonde close. Then they hurry to a medical aircraft.

Huh, I guess the Mistralian police are more reliable than the Vale ones or something.

Qrow watches them pass. He walks up to me. "We're so fucked," he says.

I blink. "Huh?"

" _That_ was Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

"...Fuck." A Schnee, just great. And just when I wanted to avoid politics too. "Jackass is still kicking?"

"Unfortunately," rasps Qrow. "From what I've heard, the heiress is a good kid though…"

"Won't stop Jackass," I say. "If he finds out…"

"He's gonna mine this as much as he possibly can," Qrow finishes for me.

"...Has the Schnee Empire declined since my untimely death?" I ask hopefully.

"Nope."

I let out an exasperated sigh. Then I frown. "What's a Schnee doing here anyways?"

Qrow closes an eye. "I don't know about the specifics, but I bet it has to do with RWBY."

"Ruby?" Taiyang wouldn't be holding tea parties with the most despicable company on the face of Remnant, no way.

"R-W-B-Y, the team. Ruby's the leader."

….

….

...Should I feel proud? I feel proud but… "Why _the hell_ is my _sixteen year-old_ daughter leading a _team?!_ "

Qrow cringes. "I don't know! Blame it on Oz!"

I punch a fist into my open palm. "Oh, _I will-"_

"Is Weiss going to be okay?"

I freeze. Robotically, I turn around. I put on the most reassuring smile I can muster. "Hello, Ruby."

Qrow facepalms. I ignore him.

Ruby fidgets nervously. "I...Weiss is gonna be fine, right?"

I share a look with Qrow (or it's more like, I plead for help with my eyes and Qrow ignores it). Ruffling Ruby's hair, I say, "She'll live-" (probably) "—She's gonna be back in no time, so don't worry."

Probably not. Weiss Schnee, if she survives—is never going to be the same ever again. Even at a glance, anyone who's seen the battlefield before realizes— _those burns won't ever heal._

 _They'll scar her forever._

But even though I specialize in telling people my cold, harsh honest opinion, I couldn't— _not to Ruby._ It would only make everything worse in the long run but…

Ruby frowns. "Okay…"

Qrow raises an eyebrow. I send him 'the look'. He raised his hands in defeat and covers it up by throwing his arms over his head. "Ruby, get everyone on the aircrafts. We're going to Menagerie."

"Menagerie?" Ruby says—at the same time I did.

Oh gods, like mother like daughter.

"Yeah, well we're not getting into Atlas anytime soon," says Qrow. "That's for sure."

 _Menagerie again?_ I bite my bottom lip. _Alright._

"Got it…" Ruby turns into roses and flies towards Haven.

Red roses—Huh. Her semblance doesn't look as simple as 'Teleportation' too.

Qrow looks at me. "So...Do you know anything about parenting—at all?"

"I read the manuals!"

* * *

I'm walking to an aircraft when I see a small girl with pink and brown hair. She leans on a pillar and glares.

"Ah...What's wrong?" I say.

Neo is her name. She's quite the nihilist, if I remember right.

' _Welcome back, Summer Rose.'_

I pause. I do a double take. "I...do I know you?"

' _Ha. I shouldn't have expected you to remember me,'_ the mute scoffs. She tilts her head—and even though she's two-thirds of my height, it's kind of intimidating. ' _How many people's choices will you take away before you're done, Rose?'_

"..." I put my hand on White Rose. This girl isn't making any sense. " _I don't know what you're talking about."_

' _So you say.'_ Neo pushes herself off the pillar. She walks to me. ' _I paid my debt. I saved your vessel. I protected it on the journey here. Do me a favor and suffer your way to the Demon Queen.'_

Neo passes by. ' _And if you're not dead by the time it's all over, I'll kill you myself.'_

"You—!" I lash out, but she's gone and the only traces left are shards of glass slowly fading away.

I stare at that spot, dumbfounded and pissed off. _Now what the hell did I do to deserve that?_

 _I'm just trying to save the world._

 _Give me a damn break._

 _Calm down…_

I shake my head and get on the aircraft.

Everything will be fine.

 _This body of mine—is the real deal now._

Everything will be fine, but really, how the hell am I going to explain the disappearance of Pyrrha Nikos?

* * *

—It was all dark. Not even black dark...just _nothingness_. She couldn't feel. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear.

But Pyrrha Nikos didn't cease to exist. _Not yet._

* * *

 **A/N: My computer broke down (but that was probably my fault) and then my monitor cable broke and now I'm running on 720p visuals with an old backup cable. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Then, icing on the cake, my brother the Beta was late to beta-ing. This week was plagued with misfortune. Sorry guys…**

 **Beta is Bro (unfortunately)**

 **But hey, Volume 6 is almost here!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **bwburke04: Gah, whoops, Harbinger. Always thought it was 'Harbringer'...lol.**

 **Nerd315: Thanks, man. I love themes, though I might be a bit heavy-handed on them. =)**

 **Xellos1: 0_0 ...That's a bit messed up, dude.**

 **merendinoemilliano: :)**

 **Espada-001: There's a simple answer. She didn't. (No srsly, love Weiss, sorry Weiss).**

 **RotWS: I know. But my theory is that _SSN wasn't too happy about Sun's decision anyways. I mean, your leader just ditched you after a horrifically traumatic experiance where a ton of Huntsmen died…**

 **Gizmo Gear: MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

 **Nightwing2013: ...for drama? Also, sorry man, but a happy reunion wouldn't work for the plot…**

 **Firestar001: Yup, gotta look on the bright side! Pyrrha's boy problems have gone out the window!**

 **TacoKing23: nyahahahahahahaha**

* * *

 **Twitter Plug (for anyone who wants to contact me): at aroszjoker**

 **Reviews, Favourites, and Follows are much appreciated!**


	20. Chp XIX: Cost

**Chp XIX: Cost**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **The cold; Seems to grow in my soul, it's consuming me/Confused; And I'm losing myself in the storm." ~ 'Path to Isolation' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

Sunlight? I open my eyes.

 _Where…_

Right, Qrow got us some hotel rooms…

Damn, I actually managed to fall asleep, and on a freaking _chair_ too _._ I shake my head. I feel...woozy. It must be from trying to stay up all night. Well, that was stupid of me.

I yawn. Then I run through a morning routine I haven't practiced in ten years (or so, I'm not really sure and I don't want to see how old I am). Let's see if I remember...brush your teeth, wash your face, change, check your scroll, _aaand_ done.

Gods, When brushing your teeth is surreal, you realize you've reached a new low in life.

It's ten in the morning. Ozpin better be awake. I have _a few_ bones to pick with him, the old ass.

I leave my room and start walking down the hallway. Wait, I grind to a halt—I can't remember which room Qrow was in...Did he even tell me yesterday?

Well, this sucks. I'd try calling him, but it isn't like I remember his phone number… I look between the doors. Ugh, this is going to be a guessing game.

I teleport between the doors and knock on each one. I got screamed at by more than a few people. Well, I'm sorry—I'm just trying to look for a friend!

There's a few more things we have to clear up. Yesterday's conversation wasn't very helpful.

* * *

" _What's with collecting the relics anyway?" I ask Qrow. The children are too busy catching up to notice us and we stand in a corner of the airship, surrounded by faunus. "It's not like they'll…"_

" _It's a power-play," says Qrow. "Besides, it's better than letting Salem get her hands on them."_

" _...True." I frown. "And Beacon's relic?"_

" _Safe. For now."_

* * *

What a headache. This and that and that...Can't things be simple for once? Is that too much to ask, Salem? I would've been happy with a fucking nice life, Salem!

I slam my fist into a door. It gets stuck.

...Wonderful, this is _just_ what I need.

The door opens. My fist comes out of the frame. I expect a pissed off old guy at the doorway and get a Qrow. If you squint, I guess he _is_ a pissed off old guy.

Gods, time passes by too fast.

"Summer?"

"...You drink?" There's a flask in Qrow's hand. "I thought you hated alcohol."

Qrow blinks. Then he looks down at his flask. "Y-Yeah...It's something I...picked up, I guess."

He puts the flask in his pocket and scratched his cheek. "Haha…"

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it," I say with a wave of my hand. "It's not like you're an alcoholic or anything."

"...Right." Qrow coughs. "So...What brings you here…?

I cut to the point. "Is Oz awake?"

Qrow sags. "That's what I thought. Yeah. We just finished explaining the whole messed up situation to the kiddos, too. Well... _what they need to know right now."_

"Without me?!" I'm offended. And, "Not to Ruby, right? She's too young for this crap, Qrow." I pause. "...And I don't want this life for her."

Qrow gives me a guilty look.

"I swear to the Gods, Qrow…"

Qrow sighs, which makes him look even older than he already does. He runs a hand through his hair and walks into his room. I follow.

"I get it, Summer. Trust me, I didn't want this for them either—but it's too late. They're already knee-deep in this whole mess."

"How the hell did that happen? I _know_ Taiyang hates this stuff almost as much as _Raven_ does."

Ha, if you think about it two are lucky. They weren't chained to these burdens like me. ...They can (and did) leave whenever they want. Qrow's...Qrow's the only one that's never betrayed the cause.

Qrow cracks a crooked grin. "Well, it's a long story."

I see Ozpin on the balcony. For some reason, he's swinging his cane like he's _practicing._ Ozpin doesn't practice—he's been alive for thousands of years. Maybe he's testing out his new body?

Qrow slides open the door. "Hey, Oscar? I'm gonna need Ozpin again."

Ozpin is startled (Ozpin doesn't get startled).

"So soon…?" He looks upset. Ozpin sounds different from yesterday too. Then he notices me. "Oh! You were the Huntress from yesterday! You look a lot like Ruby."

I blink. Ozpin coughs on his own laughter. I glare at him.

"...I'm Ruby's mother," I finally say. Is this Ozpin? Qrow _did_ call him something else, right? I'm confused. I don't like being confused.

"O-oh!" The boy fumbles. He opens and closes his mouth. "B-But...Okay. I'll go before I put my foot in my mouth again…"

His eyes shifted color. They go bright gold-then faded into mildly gold irises. I admit it, it was kind of cool. The kid's whole posture changes. His back straightens and he lifts his head.

"Summer, you must excuse me but I am quite intrigued as to how you've come back from the dead, so to speak." The boy turns his cane into...well, what a cane is supposed to do- _be a walking stick._

I got a whiplash from the kid's change. "What the hell, Oz?"

"Ah, that was Oscar. Unfortunately, our souls haven't fully merged yet." Ozpin walks towards the couch.

"Huh. I guess when you told me you reincarnated, I thought you turned into a baby or something," I say.

Ozpin paused and stared. "No! That's utterly horrifying. I can't stand small children, much less _being_ one myself."

But he still kept me around…?

Ozpin sits down on the couch and crosses his legs. Qrow and I join him...just not the crossing legs part.

"Moving on," Ozpin says. "Care to explain your own situation, Summer?"

I pout. "Do I need to go first?"

"Yes." Ozpin is unimpressed.

"I'd like to hear your story too," says Qrow.

I sigh and lean back into the armchair. "Alright."

My mind betrays me and flashes back to _the last moments of my life._

"It was a... _trick,_ I guess, that I made just in case I was ever in a _bad situation where I wasn't going to make it out_ ," I say. I lean forward. "Oz, you told me that _silver eyes are connected to the soul,_ hence the inherent _cost of use_ , right?"

"...Right," answers Ozpin. He nods to himself. I've caught his interest.

"I don't like where this is going already," Qrow says. He pulls out his flask and starts drinking.

"So I thought, _then by that logic, I can trap my soul in my eyes."_

"Okay, that's some creepy stuff," comments Qrow.

"But that wasn't good enough, because whoever wants me probably wants me for my eyes," I continue. "And this is where my genius comes in. See, if the soul's power has to travel to the eyes, then you can catch it _in between_ the soul and the eye. So if I can start activating my power the moment I die, I'll be caught in a never-ending limbo."

It was hell. That never-ending limbo was complete and utter hell. I wanted to _actually_ die. Because even death would've been better than _being aware of the emptiness that surrounds you_ — _and that you just cease to exist._

"..." Ozpin is staring.

"What?" I say.

"Your plan shouldn't have worked," he tells me very simply. "It is the most _stupid_ idea I've heard someone come up with in a very _very_ long time. Which, I might add, should tell you a lot."

"Hey, it was that or dying," I say. "There was nothing to lose."

I thought—but I didn't count my sanity. I didn't count on something _worse than death_ either. But it's okay now, _it's over. Forever._

"Okay, so we've established that your soul didn't die, then what about _literally everything else?"_ asks Qrow.

"Oh, that? I was just winging it after that."

Two pairs of eyes stare at me.

" _I didn't think about how I was going to come back, okay?"_ I shrug. "I guess I assumed that you guys would look for me or something."

"We _literally_ couldn't even get your body back," says Qrow. He sounds frustrated. "Summer, do you know how much that destroyed Taiyang? Even _Raven_ felt something."

' _You should've stayed dead.'_

"For some reason, I highly doubt that," I deadpan.

"You should call Taiyang, tell him about...you."

"I don't have his phone number," I say lamely.

Qrow sighs. "I'll give it to you later."

"And what _did_ you improvise on the spot?" asks Ozpin.

"Ah, a girl with an aura _close enough to mine_ died in a way that caught her _between life in death._ So I took her _soul_ —"

Ozpin suddenly shifted into the boy. "You _used her life_?"

I frown. "Don't word it like that. I just—"

There's a bang on the door. "Uncle Qrow?"

I jump. I look at Qrow. _What do I do?!_

"Coming!" Qrow yells. He turns his attention back to me. " _Stay."_

I sag into my chair.

Qrow opens the door for Ruby. "What do you want, kiddo?"

That was kind of rude?

"Oh, uh...The doctors are looking for you," says Ruby. She looks into the room and her eyes widen when they land on me. I feel uncomfortable. "What was I saying? Yeah, so they said something about 'taking responsibility for Weiss' or something like that. I think they mentioned a guardian?"

Qrow drinks. "Ugh. I'm too sober for this sh—...uh, _this."_

"Can you do something?" asks Ruby. "Weiss is really hurt and I don't think she wants to go back to her dad and—"

Qrow raises a hand. "Yeah, I get it. I'll deal with it."

Ruby beams. It's enduring and it makes me feel... _broken._ "Thanks, Uncle Qrow! Bye, Oscar, uh...bye Mom!"

She leaves in a flurry of roses.

Qrow drags a hand down his face. "Uuuuuugh."

"The Schnee will pose quite the problem," comments Ozpin.

"We know," Qrow and I say in perfect synchrony.

" _Fortunately,"_ says Qrow. "I have a plan…-ish?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Plan-ish?"

I have to admit, it feels good to be a part of something again. "Let's hear it, squinty-eyes. Then we can discuss what you and Oz have been up to all these years."

Qrow deflates with the nickname.

* * *

Winter Schnee, as it turns out, has the age old Schnee temper. Also, she used to be such a cute kid, what happened?

She storms into the hospital, carrying a dark, petrifying aura with her. Her blood-curdling expression would've turned lesser beings into putty. Luckily, I am not a lesser being.

Ah, the Atlesian Knights (hey, they got fancier while I was gone!) flanking her didn't help much.

" _Where is my sister?"_ Winter looks ready to murder. She _sounds_ ready to stab Qrow...more than a few times.

Qrow puts his hand in the air and point them towards the door.

She orders her Knights to stop. Then she flings the door open and stalks in.

Qrow and I stand in silence with the Knights for a few seconds.

I finally ask, "So, how'd you get her number?"

"...Really not the time, Summer." Qrow pauses. "But it's another long story."

"I see~"

More than a few minutes later, Winter finally comes out of the room.

"Well?" Qrow asks.

"Shut up, Qrow. I'm _not very happy_ right now," Winter says in cold monotone. "In fact? I feel like tearing out _someone's_ spinal cord at the moment."

Wow...Harsh. Then I remember what Ruby had been worried about. I could do something for her… "But you're not taking your sister back to the Schnee mention, right? Because that sounds like a horrible idea."

Winter turns her icy eyes on me.

"No. While my household is _none of your concern,_ I must admit, it wouldn't be...the best for Weiss," she spat and suddenly, the twenty-something year old looks…how do I describe this?, _very tired._ "I'll be taking my sister with me."

"Can you handle it?" Qrow asks. He's genuinely concerned.

"Certainly better than you can," Winter snaps. "What with your crew of children."

"...I swear it's not how it looks."

"Hmph." Winter retrieves her Atlesian Knights. "Leave us be."

"I get it, I get it," Qrow says. He backs away from Winter. "...I hope things get better for the two of you. Really."

"Hey, we might even hit up the SDC while we're in Atlas," I say casually.

I don't know where this comes from, I just know that it _boils my blood_ when I think about Jackass and his messed-up family. It makes me sick. A guy who would take his children for granted—no, _even less_ than granted. What an asshole.

Winter narrows her eyes. "I'll perceive that as a joke."

We leave without saying goodbye.

Ruby, the rest of her team, Pyrrha's old team, and Oscar (as it turned out, it was hard to convince people that the boy was, in fact, a man in his thousands) are scattered throughout the waiting room.

"What happened?" asks Ruby, running up to us. "Will Weiss be okay?"

 _Define okay,_ I want to say, but I keep my mouth shut and let Qrow handle this one. He's better than me at this mushy-feeling stuff. He and Taiyang always were.

Qrow pats Ruby's head. "Don't worry about her. Winter will take care of it."

"So we're just gonna let Winter handle this one?" asks Yang. "Does she even know what happened?"

"She knows what she needs to," Qrow tells Yang. "Besides, family is what Weiss needs right now, not her team."

"...That's up in the air," Yang mutters.

Ah...speaking of _family._

* * *

I'm pacing in circles around town's square when I finally find the right time to call Taiyang.

I don't have much to do—the rest of the crew are getting ready for the journey to Atlas and sorting things out with teammates, friends, and the like. I have none of those concerns (or at least none I feel like dealing with at the moment) so…

" _Hello?"_

"Hey, Taiyang…" I start. I pause. I don't know what to say. _How have you been? Did you miss me? I miss you? It's been a while? I'm back from the dead? I'd visit you but I have a world to save?_

Something crashes on the other side. There's a moment of static silence. " _S-Summer?"_

"Yo…" I say. "Uh...How's...life?"

" _Okay, this is not happening. I've had one too many beer, like Qrow or something, I'm dreaming, I'm hallucinating...Okay, what the hell?!"_

"It's complicated. All you need to know is I'm back, and better than ever! ...And also like, fifteen years younger than everyone else but that's not important...Hahahaha...ha."

Oh my fucking Gods, I'm like fifteen years younger than _Taiyang._

" _What the hell, Summer?!"_

"...Sorry," I say weakly. I stop pacing and turn my head up to sky. I don't want to see anything right now. "You didn't...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave like that...I mean it."

" _..."_ I hear a sigh. " _I can't believe you,"_ Taiyang sounds defeated and so so _tired. "This has something to do with the Pyrrha girl doesn't it?"_

"...Yes."

" _I can't fucking believe you. I can't even...That's some messed up shit."_

"...Yes."

" _Just so you can get another chance to defeat Salem?"_

"...Yes."

" _Summer...I love you. I really do. And I think I always will...But you sure as hell don't make it easy."_

"I'm sorry," I say again. "I love you too."

" _...Ruby and Yang need a mom. You know that right?"_

My breath hitches in my throat. "Yeah."

" _They don't need a hero. Or an Avenger."_

"...Mmhm."

" _So for the love of God please give them a mother."_

Taiyang pauses. I know he's looking for a reply.

"...I'll try," I say.

" _...If that's what I can get, then it's all I'm looking for."_

"Ah, can you do me a favor?" I suddenly ask.

" _Depends."_

"Get rid of that gravestone for me. It's hella depressing."

" _...What the hell?"_

"How would you feel if you saw a gravestone of yourself and people actually believed you were dead?"

" _Point."_ Taiyang sighs again. " _Try not to go too crazy out there, Sum."_

"Gotcha—" I stop. Why—? Yang caught my eye. She spends a moment staring—then she strides in my direction.

" _Summer?"_

"I have to deal with something. Talk to you later." I turn off my scroll.

Yang is taller than me now. That realization kind of put everything in perspective doesn't it? I remember when she was barely up to my waist…

So okay, she has every right to be angry—I _have_ been neglecting her since yesterday (though to be fair, I've been pretty horrible to Ruby too). But it can't exactly be considered my shortcoming . Ruby and Yang make me feel... _shitty_ about, well, _everything_ when I'm around them and usually a person tries to _avoid_ that feeling.

 _So for the love of God please give them a mother._

I swallow the lump in my throat.

Yang stops in front of me. She looks at me, but she doesn't seem to know what to say. She tilts her head.

"Ah...Did you need me for anything, Yang?" I ask. I can practically feel the awkward tension.

Yang shrugs. "No, not really."

Silence. I start tapping my finger on my thigh. Apparently, bad habits transfer between bodies.

"Can I ask you a question?" Yang finally says.

I'm confused. "You can ask as many questions as you want. Why _couldn't_ you ask a question?"

"Just asking," she tells me.

Is this what having a teenager is like?

"You're not like anything we remember you as, right, Mom?"

I'm surprised she calls me _Mom._ I just thought—from how she's acted around me yesterday and today—well, I guess I don't know what I thought. I like the sound of it though.

Yang might've come from Raven (and Gods was that a complicated mess, Raven has to make _everything_ complicated), but she's _my_ kid.

"...No, probably not," I admit. _Probably not_. I don't know what they saw me as. I wasn't even home—most of the time.

I never liked dealing with children (ugh, I sound like Oz). They remind me of _back then_ and _myself._ Two of the things I _hate the most._

"Okay, that's what I thought," says Yang. "Are you going to _talk to_ Ruby?"

This is clearly more than one question. I tap my thigh nervously.

"I already have."

"No, you haven't. Ruby's bad at this type of stuff. You have to sit her down and really talk to her."

 _I don't want to._ But I don't say that—because it sounds so _whiny._ "Later," I say.

Yang gaze at me. I think I see her eyes flicker red for a fraction of a second—but just as quickly, it's gone. Was it ever there or am I just confusing her for Raven?

She tilts her head and her eyes flash. "So. What happened to Pyrrha?"

I tense. _Oh._

 _Damn, she's good._

I'm not sure whether to be proud or devastated.

I lick my lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think we both know what I mean."

She's right. Of course she is.

"Does it matter?" I ask. I say coolly, "The Pyrrha you traveled with was never really alive. You might even call her _not real."_

Because she was just a means to an end.

Nothing more.

That girl never—meant anything.

I don't feel bad—at all.

Yeah, that's right.

I don't—get sick at the mere mention of her.

Yeah.

Suddenly, it feels like I'm having a stand-off with _Yang_. Her expression is on edge and she looks ready to strangle me for answers. It's unsettling and I want it to stop.

I don't feel good.

I raise a hand before Yang can say anything—and I teleport away.

True, not the proudest moment of my life but—

I didn't want her to see me throw up _everything I've eaten in ten years_ , and in the middle of the street no less.

Instead, I find a nice alley way to do so.

I breathe heavily, gasping for air.

...I must be sick from the switch.

Yeah. That's all.

I wipe my mouth. I gotta...prepare...for...what's to come... _and stop sitting on my ass._

 _Remember, you have a world to save._

 _No matter the cost._

Sorry, Tai.

* * *

Salem looks up from her Seer. She pushes it and it floats away, dragging its tentacles behind it.

"Dr. Watts, I've been waiting," she says. She drums her fingers on her armrest.

The Doctor bows gracefully, as he is known to do. "My apologies, my lady...unfortunately, it was quite a travel from Atlas to here."

"I don't need to hear your excuses."

"Of course, my lady." Watts keeps his head down.

"Now, It has come to my attention that a certain...ah, _nuisance_ has found a way to come back from the dead."

Dr. Watts looks up this time—though he quickly brings his head back down. "I am already well aware of Ozpin's reincarnation, my lady."

"No, not him." Salem examines a hand. "One _Summer Rose."_

"Impossible!" Dr. Watts exclaims. "I did the autopsy myself, she was dead!"

"Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case." Salem pierced the Doctor with her eyes. "And seeing as _you,_ Watts are directly responsible for this... _misstep,_ you will be responsible for fixing it."

The threat in Salem's tone is clear. _Get rid of Summer Rose or suffer her fate._

"O-Of course," stammers Dr. Watts. "As you wish, my lady."

"By any means possible."

"By any means possible," Dr. Watts repeats.

Dr. Watts is dismissed with a wave of Salem's hand. The Doctor is a jittery mess of nerves, something Salem finds quite amusing in her otherwise bad mood.

"Summer Rose, I never thought I'd have to deal with that wretched human ever again." Salem scoffs. "I call her a nuisance but a better term would be _monster."_

* * *

 **A/N: RWBY Vol 6 is out! ...for FIRST members. The truth is, I already watched the episode (yup, I'm a FIRST...just for RWBY...RT take my money, dammit). Without spoiling anything (I'd like to discuss the episodes after they're out to the public), you can** _ **feel**_ **the difference between separated-RWBY and together-RWBY. I think Vol 6 will be better than the last two...hopefully.**

 **But...I CAN talk about the intro. People are saying that the hooded figure is Neo, but if you watch the fight scene-she's using Cinder's weapon and has a skeleton hand. Either Neo is pretending to be Cinder, or Cinder is back from the dead (BRING BACK NEO). The old lady is probably a silver eyed warrior (like some people assumed). Also, is it me or is White Rose (the ship) being pushed really hard? (don't get me wrong, it's adorable) And the final fight scene with RWBY FINALLY being back together was amazing. That is all.**

 **Anyways, because of the disparity between FIRSTs and everyone else, this chapter is a bridge between the end of Vol 5 and the beginning of Vol 6. Next chapter will be getting into Vol 6 territory.**

 **And for anyone who didn't get the memo, RWBY is NOT being posted on YouTube this year. It is exclusively on the Rooster Teeth website. In addition, you can watch the episodes FOR FREE one week after they are released for FIRST members. Hope this helps!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Xellos1: lol, maybe Summer and Raven should start a 'Bad Mom' club.**

 **OrangeGallen: oof**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Well...it IS her story. *wink wink***

 **Nightwing2013: MWAHAHAHA MYSTERIES!**

 **merendinoemilliano: You got it! Are you following RWBY as it airs this year?**

 **Mindless Violence Fan: so many questions to answer...It's time to put the plot into high-gear!**

 **darkvampirekisses: *whistles* who knows?**

 **Gizmo Gear: I take pride in being evil =). And like I said in the A/N, you DO NOT have to pay to watch the new volume. You'll just get it one week later. For more information, see the end of my very, very long a/n. Don't want you to miss RWBY dude!**

 **TacoKing23: all will be revealed!**

* * *

 **Twitter Plug (for anyone who wants to contact me): aroszjoker**

 **Reviews, Favourites, and Follows make my day!**


	21. Chp XX: Train

**Chp XX: Train**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

" **Enemies surround me/But the worse appear as friends." ~ 'Path to Isolation' by Jeff Williams**

 ***spoilers for RWBY Vol 6 Chp 1-2***

* * *

Two weeks, that's how long it took to sort everything out and finally _finally_ get a move on.

Atlas, Ozpin said. We must travel to _Atlas._

It's the safest option we have. Vale and Mistral are both compromised and Vacuo...well, Vacuo was never known for its safety.

There's only one problem. Atlas closed its borders.

"It would've been easier," Qrow says drily, "if we still had the Schnee—"

"Weiss," Yang reminds him.

Ah, _Yang._ Ever since that little uh... _conversation_ two weeks ago, I've been doing my best to avoid her. And she hasn't exactly tried to wring answers out of me after that either. I guess you could call it a— _mutual acceptance_ of sorts. Yes, aside from a few glares and glances, Yang acts like that conversation never happened.

I could work with that.

"— _Weiss,_ but we don't." Qrow rubs his temples.

We're supposed to move out tomorrow. That one fact is the only reason I attended this meeting.

I've avoided all the other ones, so far.

I've avoided most things, actually. Now, I'm rooted in a corner of the hotel room, avoiding the center, the couches, and the crowd. Every once in a while, someone looks in my direction, but I always _always_ ignore them. Even if it's Ruby. Even if it's hard.

Qrow drinks from his flask. I've found out that he _did_ have a bit of an alcohol problem. The alcohol-hating Qrow has an alcohol problem. I still can't believe it.

" _Anyways,_ we're just going to have to make do." Qrow holds up his flask. "Argus, beautiful northern coastline and more importantly, Atlas's _biggest trading post._ It's unlikely that they would pull out their military from someplace so important and well…" Qrow looks at Ozpin, who stands in front of a couch instead of sitting in it.

Ozpin shifted his weight. "General Ironwood, whom I'm certain you're all aware of, is and has been a part of my...Inner Circle per se, for a very long time. _If_ we can obtain an audience with him and convince him of our cause, we're likely to be allowed entrance to Atlas."

I make a sour face. I wasn't a fan of Ironwood the last time I was alive and my opinion of the man sure as hell wasn't changing.

Qrow makes a similar face. "Right. We'll take a train to Argus tomorrow. If everything goes well, it shouldn't be a long trip."

In other words, it's probably going to be a long trip.

The room goes silent. But before it can drag out too long to be called 'awkward', Yang asks, "So...What does the relic _do?_ I get they're important and stuff, but that's about it."

I tilt my head. Interesting question.

And I hate to admit it, but I'm not quite sure either.

Ozpin pats the Relic of Knowledge. It hangs off his belt—casually too. "The Relic of Knowledge...grants the user the ability to ask three questions every one hundred years."

I raise an eyebrow. "I thought the relics were just powerful sources of magic."

Powerful is an understatement. I was under the impression that the relics are _the_ powerful sources of magic. Literal incarnations of the gift they represent. Or whatever.

The point is, the Relic of Knowledge had enough knowledge or magical power or something to bring me back.

"They are," Ozpin says. "But each relic also contains a unique power to aid humanity in its respective field."

"Hm." Interesting.

Then the ginger girl goes on a tangent about wishes. It's entertaining, but also distracting.

I use the opportunity to look out a window and teleport into the streets of Kuo Kuana.

Alone, I'm left to my own mind for company—something I've become used to…these years.

I hate it.

I've learned that you're mind is your own worst enemy. It doubts you and poisons you.

 _I'm doing the right thing._

 _Lies._

 _I'll save the world._

 _Lies._

I shake my head and halt to a stop in front of a door.

 _CLUB TWENTY-THREE_

It's one in the afternoon. Oh, well.

* * *

— _The crevices of this woman's mind. They're...I couldn't begin to explain it._

— _They're not monstrous. Not horrifying. Not sickening._

— _They're just...empty. Suppressed._

— _She's destroyed her mind. Obliterated it._

— _Until only one thing mattered:_

— _Winning._

* * *

"Hey."

Blearily, I open my eyes. There's a feeling in the back of my mind—like I missed something important. "...Qrow."

"Drinking?" Qrow is sitting on a stool—next to me.

When did that happen?

"Eh," I say. "Cut a girl a break. I haven't had alcohol in ten years."

"Hmm." Qrow raises a hand. The bartender walks over. "One Bloody Mary." Qrow looks at me. "Wish I haven't had a drink in ten years."

"Ha." I stretch. "What time is it?"

"Almost six."

"Damn."

The bartender slides Qrow his drink. Qrow gulps it down.

I make a face. "The Bloody Mary? You've got to be kidding me."

"I like tomatoes."

It's irritating, watching Qrow gulp down his drink for a full minute.

Well, at least he's fast.

Qrow sets down his drink. "You alright, Summer?"

I blink. "I'm fine, why?"

"Well, you're more distant now. You're quiet. You're always in a bad mood—."

"I'm not in a bad mood."

Qrow raises an eyebrow then. "Sure. You've been avoiding everyone—"

"Just the people that matter." I hesitate, then add, "Not you."

"Good for me," Qrow says. "Now Ruby—"

It always comes back to Ruby. "...Qrow, I just...I was never a good mother anyways and...what you remember about the dead is usually very different than the real deal."

Qrow laughs sardonically. "That's for sure. You've definitely changed, Summer. Back then...Back then, at least you tried."

It hurts—hearing him say that. I think it's because a part of me _knew_ he was right.

I squelch that part of me. "I…It doesn't matter. I'd rather be a mysterious figure than a disappointment."

"Even if it hurts?"

"Shut up."

Qrow swirls his straw, even though he's already finished his drink. A habit, probably. "This is a dirty method for sure, but...you and Raven should totally start a 'bad moms' club."

It is dirty.

Unfair.

Completely dirty.

Qrow knows me too well.

I grit my teeth and hit the counter. " _I get your point."_

And Qrow is grinning smugly, the bastard, but there's also something sad in that grin. A tinge of sadness that isn't covered up by his smile. _You're different,_ it said, _worse._

* * *

Clearly, Qrow knew that comparing me to Raven was the best way to get me acting.

That's how, somehow, the next day I'm on babysitting duty for Ozpin and Qrow's ragtag group of children in this _fucking_ train station.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I don't even know why I'm here. The boy, Oscar, is also present, which means Ozpin is as well. Obviously. And he's more than ten times my age no matter how you do the math.

Qrow claims that they needed an adult—a _convincing adult—_ while he sends a voice message to General Ironwood about our impending arrival.

I tap my foot impatiently. The train's supposedly set to leave in seven minutes. Hopefully, the accuracy of train stations has improved since my death.

I look up as Ruby approaches in a flurry of roses. Still, I don't have a full grasp of her semblance, literal roses or speed?

I could ask her, of course, but it'd be awkward and I'd really rather not.

Qrow doesn't want me to ignore Ruby—and so far, I haven't, which makes me far superior to _Raven._ But 'not ignoring' and 'talking' are two very different things and I'll keep it that way.

Ruby, practically _beaming,_ shows Yang a gift bag.

I look away—and I can't figure out why I'm so _uncomfortable._

The rest of the group, Team JNR, I remember, are talking about Argus. Or Nora is. Jaune and Ren are more than happy to let her rattle on.

...When did I...bother to learn their names?

I'm distracted from this mystery by two arrogant-looking idiots. The worst kind of idiots.

"A big group, I see," says the first one. He swings his spiked mace around for show. He wears a buttoned blue leather shirt, a standard Hunter's belt, and combat pants. In other words, he's so generic he can probably get away with robbery.

His partner is the same, but the man comes with a different haircut, a ponytail, and a different weapon, a lever-action rifle. "But don't worry. With us around, you've got nothing to worry about."

I raise an eyebrow. Then I realize they haven't noticed me, leaning on a pillar a good distance away from the rest of the crew.

"Aaaand you are?" Nora asks, tilting her head.

"Dee and Dudley, of course," says the first one.

Instantly, I forget which is which.

"The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory," continues the first one.

The other one speaks up. "But for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get... _dangerous_."

He winks at Ruby.

I'm on top of him in an instant. My teleportation kicks in and I appear in front of him, my weapon pointed at his throat. My aura flares and darkens. The faux-huntsman visibly shivers.

I'm glaring, but I smirk for show. "We aren't in need of your help, _thanks."_

The man gulps and his Adam's apple moves up and down. "O-Of course, ma'am!"

His partner shakes his head. "I-Idiot. Let's go."

They stumble away. Pathetic.

Ozpin shakes his head. "I certainly hope those weren't Beacon students…"

I scoff and sheathe White Rose. "If they were, Beacon's fallen since I was away."

Oh, wait… "...Bad choice of words."

Qrow walks over, sighing. He watches Dee and Dudley scamper towards the Argus Limited. "What a show-off."

"Hardly," I dismissed, "I showed off nothing."

Ruby stares and my skin crawls.

 _You're a disappointment._

 _I'm not._

 _She curses you._

 _She doesn't._

 _You failed her._

 _I didn't!_

"Sure," Qrow says. He puts a hand on his hip. "So, everyone ready to go? And Yang, you're bike's all loaded up?"

Yang nods, distracted. "Yeah. Blake's coming down right now."

Ah, yes. The Belladonna went off to say goodbye to that yellow-haired boy and the chameleon girl.

I shift my attention the train. It's nice enough, I suppose. Big and long and no doubt high-class on the inside. It's just too bad that it leaves it vulnerable to any type of attack.

* * *

Qrow curses after I recite what Dee and Dudley had said.

"Those idiots," he says. "Are they trying to sick the Grimm on us?"

"They're trying to make a quick buck, but yeah," I say.

We're on the road to Argus and I watch snowy trees pass by as the train barrels forward. I don't know where the kids have gone, but Qrow and I are sharing a table in the back of the train.

Qrow sighs. "We've already got everything stacked against us, with my Semblance and the Relic in our possession…"

The train rattled as we pass rocky grounds.

"The Relic? Salem might want it, but it's not like her Grimm can track it or anything." Now _that_ would be a disaster in the making.

Qrow makes a disgruntled face. "It's not the Grimm I'm worried about."

And suddenly, I feel bile rise up to my throat. I remember the sneers and the laughs and the biting comments and—

"So you say…" I remark.

The train rattles again. Then suddenly, it jolts.

There's distant screaming from the front of the train.

I make a face and look down at my drink. My reflection stares back at me. I'm surprised by how _bright_ I look. Like I was looking forward to an attack…

Qrow stands up. "Speaking of the Devil...Let's go."

We ignore the civilians, who acted like they were chickens with their head cut off, and run to the connector. Qrow kicks open the door. I teleport to the top of the train and help him up.

Manticore Grimms, giant felines composed of ridiculous spike manes and stingers for tails, circle above the Argus Limited. They guard a Sphinx, it dwarfs their size and when it screeches, the little snake head on its tail does so too.

Qrow and I arrive just in time to watch a Manticore get the drop on one of the idiot Huntsmen and drag him to his death.

"Dee!" screams his partner.

Oh, so that's who it was.

Then Ruby and her team appear on deck and things become a lot more complicated than they should be.

I grab my weapons—they're in sword form—and hurled them at a pair of Manticores in the sky. They stick their landing in the Manticores' chests. Qrow gives me a slight nod and I'm gone.

I appear in the air, above one of my swords. Gravity does its work and my feet slam down on the sword. I pull out my second sword from the other Manticore. Free-falling, I throw the sword at another Manticore. I grab the sword I've left in the air and teleport.

Good, I'm making decent pace to the front of the train.

I slice and stab at the Manticore until it turns into dust and smoke and take the sword out of its disappearing remains. Launching the sword at the train, I vanish.

'Teleportation' isn't a very accurate description of my Semblance. In reality, it's phasing through space itself. It _should_ hurt, it _should_ be disorientating.

And it was—before I had pushed it. To its limits.

 _You're literally breaking yourself up and reforming in another place, another location._

That's why you needed a marker. Something to keep you _in this world._

I can't appear anywhere I want. I can't even teleport anywhere I can see.

That's why—I had to fling my swords everywhere.

I reform on top of the train.

A gust of wind blows my hood back and sends my cloak and hair flying.

A dust bullet nearly blows my head off. I manage to dodge it. Annoyed, I get ready to rant to whoever aimed so badly—

—It's an automated turret.

Well, I can't very well rant to a turret, can I?

Though I _could_ rant to whichever idiot that had the _brilliant_ idea to activate the turrets.

It's Dudley, because of course it is.

I grab my sword—the one embedded in the train—and flicked a switch. It turns into an automatic rifle. I shoot down a Manticore and shout, "Someone get the idiot to stop the turrets! It's only attracting the fucking Grimm!"

I instantly regret cursing when Ruby looks in my direction. Then she's yelling, "Oscar, go!"

Tiny Ozpin runs like his life depends on it.

Then it's a series of slashes and blows, biding time and thinning out numbers.

It's nostalgic in a way, and I think a part of me craves for it.

There's nothing like fighting with your life on the line to distract you from yourself, after all.

Qrow jumps over to my train cart. We cut down Grimm like it's the old days. Like nothing's change even though everything that matters has.

"The Sphinx is staying behind," Qrow says. "It's smart."

"Old, then. It'll be worth taking down," I respond easily, without missing a beat. "Wait for my signal."

Another Manticore goes down—but its friends don't retaliate. Instead, they're suddenly staying in the air, watching the train move forward.

I frown. Something's wrong—

"TUNNEL!"

The hairs on the back of my neck rise. I grab Qrow and throw him onto the draft gear, the part where the trains connect together. Using Qrow as a marker, I teleport down.

The tunnel finds its way above us, the tar ceiling only a hair's width from the train.

Qrow unlatches the door handle and storms his way inside. I walk behind him.

We pass various scared commoners, huddled in corners or pacing or running around in a panic or doing otherwise unhelpful things.

Qrow's mood did not improve when we find the kids, surrounding the idiot huntsman who turned on the turrets.

I forgot his name.

He's on the floor, groaning in pain as Jaune heals him.

"Idiot," I say coolly. "If you weren't in such a pathetic state, I'd have half a mind to throw you off the train myself."

I feel eyes on me. Maybe that remark went too far, but I couldn't care less at the moment. All I can think about is how much of an abject failure this could of gone, _still_ could go.

We have no time for wannabe huntsmen. Not when we're this close to beating Salem, not when the Grimm and who-knows-what-else are gaining on us, and not when my first mission in ten years could end in failure.

And not when Ruby could've been injured.

 _She's only sixteen, for God's sake!_

Qrow slams the man into the wall. He demands the turrets' deactivation.

"Are you crazy?! It's the only thing keeping us alive!" exclaims the Huntsman.

" _We'll_ keep ourselves alive," I say, "And everyone else on this damn train if we have to."

The train shakes, sending tremors through the ground. We're nearing the end of the tunnel.

I crack my knuckles. "Look, idiot. We don't have the time for this—"

The train section blows up.

And I'm yelling curses and wondering when the hell Grimm got so smart.

The Manticores had barreled through the train section—they were aiming for _us—_ and went through the other sides. Or at least the ones that survived their suicide bombing.

In the explosion, I throw my swords at the train section ahead—it hasn't caught on fire nearly as much. I teleport and grab onto the swords. Suddenly, I'm forced to hang off a train and examine the situation at the same time.

Qrow's on the other side, covering tiny Ozpin from the fire and debris.

Yang literally punches the fire. It spreads around her. Behind her, Yang's partner shields herself.

Wait—where's Ruby?

In the air.

I curse and tug one of my swords out of the train. Hurling it at Ruby—an action I'm not too proud of—I appear next to her.

She's small. Which is saying something as _I'm_ not the tallest person in the world by a long shot. I grab her cloak—I'm more interested in _why_ she has a cloak—and aim for the sword left in the train, then I teleport. Ruby yelps. She's probably going to puke later.

We reappear on the side of the train. I hurl Ruby onto the roof and climb up. Ruby slices a Manticore in half, then she blows its head off. There's a warm feeling in my chest, _pride,_ but I shake it off for more pressing problems.

"Summer! You need to meet us in Argus!" Qrow yells. With one of the train sections blown up, the Argus Limited had been snapped in two. Qrow and his group, tiny Ozpin, Yang, and Blake Belladonna, are scattered among the back half, the wreckage that was about to be left behind.

They're slowly fading into the distance—the Argus Limited continues rumbling forward at its normal pace, the train is probably run by an AI.

I feel frustrated, and annoyed, and pissed. This isn't how things were supposed to have gone. We're supposed to have won the battle—be the heroes, but we've lost three-quarters of the train and the Grimm don't show any signs of slowing down.

"I know!" I tell Qrow, my voice hoarse. "Make it fast!"

Qrow gives me a thumbs-up and turns, facing the Grimm. The same Grimm that had mysteriously stopped following the Argus Limited.

"Move," I tell Ruby and she nods, in a daze. We enter the train through a window. I find a set of fire extinguishers in a corner and grab two. Throwing one at Ruby, I start putting out the fire.

Team JNR _is_ onboard this compartment. Nora herds the civilians into another compartment while Jaune enhances Ren's aura, Ren concentrates, a hand on the floor.

"Ren hides negative emotions," Ruby explains quietly. "It masks us from the Grimm."

"Hm." Interesting. But I look out the window and I have the feeling that the Grimm weren't _just_ tracking negative emotions this time. A flash of black and red make my case.

 _Who have you sent this time, Salem?_

* * *

Raven finds some sort of mild entertainment from watching the rain fall. Maybe that's why she always insists on sitting next to a window—so she could see the raindrops slide down the pane of glass.

She swirls her drink, thinking. Raven is still reeling from the revelation that _Yang_ had somehow gotten her scroll number and _called her._ And it _wasn't_ about something she would've expected, something along the lines of 'what the hell, you're a horrible mother!', and instead about Summer.

Ha, expect Summer to get into _everything._ The fucking bastard.

 _...Mom. Tell me what you know about Summer._

 _Oh?_

 _Actually, a fucking explanation for everything would be great but_ — _shhhh, Blake!_ — _one thing at a time or whatever._

 _And what would I have to gain from this...expenditure?_

 _I think you already have a good idea._

 _...You're right_

Raven is shaken out of her thoughts when the bell rings, signaling a new customer. She looks up, eyes locked on a petite woman, too small for her appearance, with three-toned hair and heterochromia in her eyes, one brown, one pink. Neopolitan folds her umbrella and takes a seat across from Raven.

' _I haven't forgotten your attempt to murder me, Branwen.'_

Raven raises an eyebrow. "Please. It was just a warning."

' _Whatever, helicopter mom. I'm not here to chat.'_

"Well, technically, you _are._ " Raven sips her tea, shrewdly ignoring Neo's first jab. "But if you must, let's get down to business."

' _Summer Rose.'_

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, boy. This is going to be a loooooooong End Section, lol. So! We finally had a canon convergence and Summer messes it all up just by existing. Thanks, Summer. You're why we can't have good things, not that you care. Fortunately, this means that I won't be boring you readers to death by rehashing the same content but with Summer (and trust me, this is a VERY GOOD THING after Vol 6 Chp 3).**

 **Beta is bro**

 **RWBY VOL 6 REACTION!**

 ***My reaction to the first episode is posted on chapter 6 of my other story 'When You Wage War on the Grimm Queen (Again?)'...you know, if you care***

 ***note that I've already watch Chapter 3–But I kept it as spoiler free as possible.***

 **So! Vol 6 Chp 2! Cinder is back as literally everyone predicted, newly dressed in the outfit of some poor murdered Mistralian lady and she's out for revenge! (on the wrong people, someone please give this lady a guide on how to properly do revenge) Meanwhile, Team RWBY is stranded in the middle of nowhere and they're pissed. Ozpin failed to tell them that the Relic of Knowledge is actually a sexy naked geni lady named Jinn and Ruby is exposed to a R+ rated character before she's of age. Well, at least Qrow shields his eye...now Team RWBY though...heheh. Ruby is finally a productive character and does something! and finally *takes a deep breath* OMG SALEM?!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **Frost: Ah, I understand now. Damn, Volume 6 is basically the catch-up Volume by this point. 'Which character is on the development-block next?!'**

 **merendinoemilliano: Nyahahaha, well, not all of Summer's super illegal and morally awful crimes against humanity have been revealed yet! (But yeas, it is** _ **very**_ **messy).**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: It's not. :)**

 **Nightwing2013: I hope your anxiety has paid off...of course, now you're on Chapter Two's hell-of-a-cliffhanger so…have fun? Also, yes, Summer is. Completely.**

 **Nerd315: Um..ahem… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

 **Xellos1: So they say. Unfortunately, monsters can be sympathetic.**

 **Phalanx30: ...And all fan-abilities of the Relic gets thrown out by Vol 6 Chp 2 (thanks a lot Miles, Kerry, and naked geni Jinn! Now I have to justify this shit!) Also, for silver eyes, I've always imagined them as having power over 'dark magic' ie. the Grimm, Cinder's arm and spider thing, and Salem...And after recent developments *ahem Chapter 3, no spoilers, I promise*, I think that's probably most likely. Also, yeah Team JNPR is definitely more relatable. Especially because Jaune is practically the audience surrogate. Personally, I have a thing for badass characters and detest audience surrogates so Team RWBY is my jam, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. Oh gods, this is a long response.**

 **Stephen Adizio: Maybe it's just symbolism for Cinder turning her back on Salem? And honestly, I didn't think she was dead either, I just expected CRWBY to wait a few seasons for her return, ie. Adam and Neo. If you watch Vol 5 &6 back-to-back, Cinder's literally been 'dead' for like 40 min, lol. **

**Guest: XD - To be fair, canon!Summer** _ **probably**_ **is saint-like. It'd be fascinating if she turned out to be a horrible person in canon too though. Just imagine it. ;)**

 **BigBadBeowulf: Hello, again! It's really been a while, huh? Anyway, lol who knows, maybe Pyrrha will get what she deserves...in death (jk...or maybe not?) And will do, I'll make sure to seriously keep updating to the end, this time! :)**

 **Guest: Goddammit.**

 **AceEinz: What are you doing in the Reviews?!**

* * *

 **Twitter Plug (for anyone who wants to contact me): aroszjoker**

 **Reviews, Favourites, and Follows make my day!**


	22. Chp XXI: Alike

**Chp XXI: Alike**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Time and time again it seems/We've reached the point where all all our dreams/Are crumbling all around us." ~ 'Miracle' by Jeff Williams**

 ***Please Read A/N***

* * *

— _Who was Summer Rose?_

— _No, perhaps the correct question is who IS Summer Rose?_

— _Does it really matter who she was? No, not really, I suppose._

— _Everyone WAS someone. Everyone HAD BEEN something. Even...Even me._

— _I think...I'm starting to understand that now._

— _Summer Rose IS many things, just as she WAS many things. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that she WAS as many things as she IS._

— _Like everyone. But unlike everyone._

— _Perhaps then, 'like me'._

— _Yes. Like me._

— _Just like me._

— _We are...like each other. But different. I suppose._

— _I guess._

— _Everyone is._

— _But us, more so. Two sides of the same stone. Is that what they say?_

— _In here, I've been thinking a lot. Well, if wasn't as if I had anything better to do._

— _And thinking keeps me sane._

— _Or at least I'd like to think it does._

— _...I'm starting to understand Summer Rose._

— _But no, that's not what matters._

— _Just like how the past Summer Rose doesn't matter to anyone but the present Summer Rose._

— _In the same vein, my sanity doesn't matter to anyone but me._

— _I digress._

— _The present Summer Rose is worried._

— _I can feel it. It affects me too._

— _The present Summer Rose is worried. But she refuses to admit it, especially not to herself._

— _She believes she is irritated and frustrated. Betrayed and hurt. She believes life isn't fair and she's saddled with the worst._

— _I suppose, she's right. To a degree._

— _Life ISN'T fair. I always knew that._

— _But knowing and accepting are two very different things._

— _I know that now._

— _Oh, Summer Rose has been pacing the train for the last few hours. I don't know how many hours and I have no way to check. But it's enough to get on Summer Rose's nerves. She knows she has been compartmentalizing locations and people in the train._

—' _The dorms? Fourth through fifth compartment. Dining area? Seventh. Game room? Eighth. After the eighth compartment? Left somewhere in the snow.' she thinks, annoyed._

— _I believe she's annoyed at herself._

— _Or maybe at the world._

— _To Summer Rose, those mean the same thing._

— _She takes an alcoholic beverage from a wide-eyes bartender. I'm not sure what alcoholic beverage it is, I do not drink. Of course I didn't, I was underage._

— _There is a part of me that regrets that now._

— _But Summer Rose takes an alcoholic beverage like it's nothing and she doesn't stay to pay. Maybe alcoholic beverages come with the Argus Limited. Maybe it doesn't. I wouldn't know. I don't think I particularly care either._

— _Summer Rose's business is her own business._

— _She is thinking that she will avoid the fifth compartment. Because she left her daughter and her daughter's friends there._

— _She is bad at relationships._

— _But then, who am I to talk?_

— _I wonder. If Summer Rose affects me, do I affect her in turn?_

— _Two sides of the same brick._

— _Then...perhaps she is so eager to avoid her daughter's friends, MY team, because I am so eager to avoid them._

— _Summer Rose is bottling up anxiety and expressing anger, so she throws the door to the sixth compartment wide open._

— _She wonders why she has a headache. A so called throbbing pain she can't get out of her head._

— _I don't think I wonder as much as her._

— _The 'civilians', as Summer calls them (and I have the feeling the term is derogatory), are startled by Summer's arrival. They're still frightened from the Grimm attack before and they're attempting to act normal. They are also failing to act normal. Because they are skittish without meaning to and suspicious of everything._

—' _Civilians, they take what they have for granted until it's gone. Pathetic.' Summer thinks_

— _She's right, I admit. But also short-sighted._

— _EVERYONE takes what they have for granted until it's gone._

— _Except Summer and I._

— _We are the exceptions._

— _But we WEREN'T the exceptions._

— _I digress._

— _But this is a strength in character for Summer Rose as much as a fault. She doesn't take anything for granted. Not anymore._

— _Summer Rose is willing to throw everything away._

— _Well, her morales are none of my business. I...I accepted that when I let her in._

— _When I LET her take control._

— _She's stopped._

— _There's only one thing in the world Summer Rose would stop for._

— _Her daughter. Ruby._

— _Because Ruby reminds Summer of what she's lost. What she could've had. What was taken from her THAT DAY._

— _Is that true love? I don't know. What is true love anyway?_

— _Ruby has appeared in front of Summer while I wasn't paying attention. Hm. She has an expression on her face. I can't place it. I believe it's a combination of hope and disappointment._

— _I believe Summer is aware of this. Summer feels like staying there, admiring her daughter. But she also feels like running away._

— _Because Ruby is a reminder of what Summer has lost._

— _She is the only one left. Besides Summer._

— _And Summer is dead._

— _Technically._

— _Just as I am dead_

— _Technically._

—" _Mom? We need to talk."_

— _Those are the words Summer dreads._

— _They are the words Ruby says._

— _I believe Ruby has matured quite a lot after the Fall. Or maybe that is what Summer believes. Maybe we believe the same thing. Different people can believe the same thing, after all._

—" _Of course," Summer decides to say._

— _Otherwise, she'd make a bad impression. She'd look like a fool. Or worse._

— _She lets Ruby lead her to the fifth compartment._

— _There are people waiting there I don't want to see._

— _I see them._

— _Maybe I could stop looking through Summer's eyes, but like Summer with Ruby, I simply cannot stop looking._

— _There is silence in the dorm. For a while. No one seems to know what to say. They expect the adult in the room to lead them._

— _Summer Rose is an adult in the sense that she can legally drink alcoholic beverages. She is not of the likes of Qrow and Ozpin. But she WAS charismatic. And she WAS a great leader. I do not know if she are those things now._

—" _So...What now?" he finally asks, his eyes on me._

— _I mean Summer Rose. Jaune Arc is looking at Summer Rose._

— _He does not see me._

— _I am okay with that._

— _I gave up that right when I LET Summer Rose take control._

— _Perhaps I didn't know what I was doing._

— _I had thought that it was for the greater good._

— _I had thought that Summer Rose embodied the greater good._

— _She does. Undoubtedly._

— _But I hadn't realized that the greater good didn't matter._

— _Not much, at least. Not to me. Not like I believed it had._

— _I built my life on a single destiny._

— _It was a lie._

— _I'm 'over it'. I suppose. Maybe._

— _But I digress._

— _Summer Rose does not know how to respond to Jaune._

— _She does not know 'what now'._

— _She has not known 'what now' for ten years._

— _So she says, "What do you mean, 'what now'?" in a tone that comes off condescending. "We're taking this damned train to Argus and regrouping with Qrow and the rest."_

—" _That doesn't sound like much of a plan," Ren says plainly. He still has a hand on the floor. Nora stands by him, watching silently._

— _I am surprised by Ren._

— _I had not known his Semblance. I believe I had simply thought that Ren hadn't found his. Many people don't._

— _But I suppose there wouldn't be much of a need for a Semblance that hid negative emotions in a Huntsmen Academy. Still, I find myself surprised._

— _I'm glad to see it came in handy._

— _Summer Rose knows the plan isn't much of a plan. But she doesn't have a better one. She doesn't feel like making a better one either. She is tired and she wants a break. Desperately._

—" _Because it isn't," Summer bites out. She adds, "And it doesn't have to be."_

— _Ruby asks her, "What if we get to Argus before Qrow?"_

—" _Then we wait."_

— _Summer does not like waiting. But she will do what she has to._

— _Ruby shifts on her feet. She's become a lot less bubbly than I remembered. Or maybe Summer remembered._

—" _...Okay," she says. Her grip tightens on her arm. "I'm just—I don't know."_

— _Jaune puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Your team will be okay. They've gone through worse."_

—' _They've gone through worse,' he says. And I think there is pain in his eyes. Or maybe that's just a form of selfish wish-fulfillment on my part._

— _Summer watches them, quiet. She is thinking about Ruby and the things she has taken away from Ruby._

— _Summer is not an empathetic person, no. Nor does she often care about others. But she has exceptions. Sometimes._

— _Finally, Summer says, "Argus—the Argus I remember—isn't...bad. We'll find something to do, if we have to."_

— _But she thinks, 'Hopefully not'. Because she knows, and I know, that Salem is hunting us, I mean...her. Salem is hunting Summer Rose. With whom...or what, we don't know. Or Summer Rose doesn't know. And I don't know either. Is that confusing? It might be. I digress. I don't think about it too much._

— _There are just some things you don't think about._

—" _Wellll," Nora says to break the silence. "It's a long trip to Argus so we better settle in!"_

— _Summer Rose frowns. Her mood is...It is stormy. And weary. "How long?"_

—" _Um...Another fourteen hours?" Nora says. She sees Summer's face, no doubt incredulous and quite scary. "I mean...that's an estimate-ish."_

— _Summer Rose promptly turns on her heels and declares, "I'm taking a fuc—"_

— _She realizes who is in the room. She swallows and tries again. "I'm taking a nap."_

— _She thinks that it does not have the same gravity as 'I'm taking a FUCKING nap.". And she begins walking towards the room she was supposed to share with Qrow._

— _She is not interrupted until she is at the door._

—" _Mom! Wait!"_

— _Summer Rose makes a strangled noise at the back of her throat. She doesn't bother trying to run away this time—seriously, where is there to run?—and she simply opens the door for her and Ruby._

— _Summer Rose walks over to a window. She watches the outside world rush pass and waits._

— _I'm...Well, perhaps I am rooting for Summer Rose this time. Perhaps I relate to her._

— _She is the only person I could truly relate to now, I think._

—" _I...We never had time to talk? Like talk, talk, I mean," she hears Ruby say. "It kind of feels like you're avoiding me...Not that you are or anything! You know...you've always been busy. Like before."_

—' _Before,' Summer thinks. 'There's a lot of things 'before.'_

— _Or maybe that's me thinking. What does it matter?_

— _She does not say what she thinks out loud. THAT is what matters._

—" _Hm…" she says. Which isn't saying anything. It's what Summer Rose says when she has no comment. Or when she has a comment she would rather not say._

— _We, I mean, Summer Rose are, no, IS still staring out the window. So we, hm… Summer Rose do-does not see Ruby._

—" _And...actually," Ruby says. "I've been wondering about a lot of things and...no one's been giving me answers."_

—" _Hm?" Summer Rose remarks._

— _I notice that 'hm' has been the only thing Summer Rose has contributed to the conversation. No doubt Ruby does too._

—" _Mom...What happened? To you? I mean, how are you back?" Ruby hesitates. There's an audible pause. "Not that I'm complaining or anything but...Well, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be older."_

— _Summer Rose stays silent._

— _She thinks that her daughter would rather not like to hear that she used the soul of Pyrrha Nikos to anchor herself to the land of the living._

— _I would rather not hear that too._

— _Really._

— _I mean...It hadn't been much of a choice._

— _Like everything._

— _Like everything I've ever done._

— _Never a choice…_

"Never a choice," I say. "Not that—Not that I'm complaining. No—"

I clench my head. My headache suddenly spikes.

"Mom?!"

Oh. I see. I take a second to eliminate the problem. My headache leaves me.

Good. Let it stay that way.

She was supposed to be gone.

She was more resilient than I gave her credit for.

I turn to face Ruby. She looks...scared. For me. Really, I'm not surprised. I...Well, seeing someone breakdown isn't pleasant.

I've seen it happen before.

But I'm not—I'm not. Breaking down, that is. It's...It's something different.

"Sorry," I say. I step in front of Ruby. "I'm looking at her now. "It's okay...Really. I used the power of the relic. It was hard, but I managed. I always do."

Ruby's eyes went wide. "You can do that with the relic?"

"You can," I confirm. "It's just a ball of pure magic if you think about it." I hesitate. Then I say, "I'm sorry. I...didn't mean to ignore you, Little Rose. It's just been...difficult...adjusting."

"Oh. That makes sense," Ruby says quietly.

I'm glad she doesn't question me more. Not like Yang.

I stop hesitating and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. I look her in the eyes. "Look, if you need any help, just ask. Okay? I can't do anything if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Ruby nods slowly. She cracks a grin. "Ha. That makes sense."

I force a smile. "Yeah." I pat her shoulder. "I'm there for you, I swear."

"Okay, Mom."

"Buuuuut. I really need to take a break right now."

Ruby jumps up and down on her toes. "Okay. I'm going to leave you alone. Y'know, for your beauty sleep."

"It's not beauty sleep," I say indignantly. I wave a hand. "Shoo."

She's gone in a second, closing the door behind her.

I let out a long breath and collapse onto the closest bed. I drag my hands up my face and into my hair.

I'm tired.

And dealing with Ruby really didn't help.

I can't be tired. Or else...Or else I might lose control.

You can try, but I'm not letting you have my body.

I'm staying alive this time.

—... _You misunderstand._

— _I have no intention of 'taking' your body._

— _I gave up on the right when I let you take control._

— _A_ _s you said, it is YOUR body in the end._

— _But...I cannot say I don't want to._

— _So we'll make a compromise._

— _You do your business._

— _And stay out of mine._

* * *

Raven sighs through her nose. She looks down at her scroll for what feels like the millionth time. She taps her finger on the table angrily.

Neo is supposed to be looking out for them, but she turns to Raven. She frowns and asks, ' _?'_

"My associate—"

Neo smirks. ' _Your daughter.'_

"My _associate_ hasn't responded to me in a few hours." Raven tries not to look concerned. She tells herself that she isn't. "Normally, this would be normal. _But_ she was in the middle of texting when she stopped."

' _Oh? With the '…' speech bubble and everything?'_ Neo finds enjoyment in watching one of the most feared people of all of the Mistralian underground squirm.

"With the '...' speech bubble and everything," Raven grits out. "Aren't you supposed to be on the lookout?"

 _Ding!_

All heads turn to the new arrival. Most quickly lost interest and went back to their games and drinks.

A cloaked figure strides across the floor—somehow completely dry though it was utterly pouring outside.

The figure throws a bag of coins onto the table of the matriarch of the Spider's Bar. A heavy-set blonde woman who refers to herself as 'Little Miss Malachite'.

Neo clenches her scroll.

Raven listens in.

"I'm looking for these travelers," the cloaked figure rasps. She shows Little Miss Malachite her scroll.

From her vantage point on the upper floors, Raven sees photos of some of Summer's companions. Notably the former team members of the now-deceased Mistralian Regional Tournament Champion Pyrrha Nikos.

The cloaked figure and the matriarch exchange words. The figure jumps at the arrival of a new customer—then promptly leaves after a few more short exchanges.

Neo glares at the back of the figure. She holds up her middle finger. ' _You haven't seen the last of me, bitch.'_

Raven raises an eyebrow. She sips her tea. "You seem like the type of person who would hold a very long grudge, Neopolitan."

' _You're one to talk.'_

"True," Raven admits. "But whatever the case, it seems like dear Cinder will do most of our work for us, no?"

' _Hmph.'_

* * *

 **A/N: I've started a P atreon.**

 **Now hear me out. Please.**

 **I am well-aware that most of you have no intentions of giving out money for** _ **freaking fanfiction**_ **(and most of you won't after reading this either) and I am also aware that it technically** _ **isn't legal.**_ **So, I've decided on a strategy similar to Couer Al'Aran. In P atreon, it's my goal to make those of you interested in writing** **a better writer and improve myself along the way. Because I know most of you are skeptical (hey, I would be too) there's already three short writing essays completely free of charge to check out.**

 **I love writing, it's something I do for fun. But...well, writing takes a lot of time and why not try to make something** _ **bigger**_ **out of it? Follow your dreams, as they say?**

 **Link:** **www.p atreon / arosz**

 **But I totally get it if you lower your opinion of me or call me an asshole or some other um...not-nice things for starting this. I do. Stars Never End isn't going to change because of this new thing. At all. So read on and forget about this if you're one of those people. Or heck, if you just don't want to pledge. It's fine. No hard feelings. We've all been there. =)**

 **~Aros**

 ***Beta'd by Bro* (he insists on being noticed!)**

 **Also, someone challenged me to sum up RWBY Vol 6 Chp 4 in one word.**

 **I failed.**

 **But I came up with something along the lines of: EMERALD / MERCURY / OSCAR PROTECTION SQUAD ASSEMBLE!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Oml, I didn't even notice! Lol, not initially, but maybe I based Summer's Semblance off Minato unconsciously?**

 **bwburke94: Neo's back in more places than one *wink* *wink***

 **Phalanx30: no probs, my dude! In my guessing, I believe that Atlas has Creation (like you said), Vacuo has Destruction, and Vale has Choice. It just makes sense with how the Kingdom's cultures are, and hey, agrees with me so there's something! Btw, what do you think about about the lore dump in Chapter 3? For me, it royally screwed up my headcanon creation myth, lol. Interestingly, RWBY has actually always been written by Miles and Kerry for the most part (now if they're good writers, that's debatable). Monty was a creator, yes, and he had most of the ideas, but he was mainly an animator at the end of the day. But from what I've heard, Volume 5** _ **was**_ **a mixture of background issues and a lack of proper budgeting. They seemed to be sorting it out with Vol 6 now, so there's that (but then there's Gen:lock…though it _does_ look really interesting)**

 **merendinoemilliano: Welp, everyone has faults. Some just have worse faults. =)**

 **Nightwing2013: lol, I like to think of it as the 'No main protagonists in sight and we gotta do some shit!' effect.**

 **Big Bad Beowolf: Well, it** _ **is**_ **canon so it'll be incorporated. Now to what degree, you'll have to see. =)**

* * *

 **Reviews, Favourites, and Follows make my day...**

 **And** _ **you**_ **have a great day!**


	23. Chp XXII: Argus

**Chp XXII: Argus**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Even with the lives you stole/You're still no closer to your goal." ~ 'Sacrifice' by Jeff Williams**

 ***MILD RWBY VOLUME 6 EPISODE 7 SPOILERS***

* * *

The Argus Limited comes to a slow stop. Its dust engines dulls and eventually, with a lurch, the humming disappears.

At least, that's what I believe happened. The reality is anyone's guess, really. I was completely knocked out until I felt the train stop.

It's a shame that you get used to sleeping light when you've always been hunting (or haunted by) Grimm.

I stumble out of my dorm, grabbing Qrow's things on the way. He packed light, we all do, but this time he had a duffle bag. They were probably for the kid in Oz's new body.

Ruby almost runs into me. I dodge out of the way. She's slower than I expected―it must be from abusing her Semblance. I'd have to tell her to work on living without relying on a Semblance. It gets messy.

The JN_R kids are behind her, all carrying traveling gears of some sort. The blond―

― _Jaune_

―is holding a duffle bag with Yang's flame insignia on its side. I guess they didn't forget about the missing members of our little crew.

We stand in the hallway, looking at each other and expecting someone to take charge.

It's a feeling I'm familiar with and I remember Beacon and...it doesn't matter.

"Let's go," I say, hefting Qrow's duffle bag. "Unless you'd all rather stay here and block everyone's way."

That gets them moving and I hear them trailing behind me. The ginger, _Nora,_ begins a conversation about Argus in the summertime and the teenagers quickly go off into their own world. Fine by me. I'm concerned about more important issues.

I wonder―if Ironwood remembers me. He does, I reason, because I'm quite hard to forget.

That, and I spat in his face once.

I joke. He remembers me because we planned the Attack together―which...isn't uplifting considering how _that_ went.

…

…

…

Yeah.

Whatever.

We get off the train, onto a shiny new metal platform courtesy of Atlas. They just can't help showing off their technology everywhere can't they?

Argus is more quiet than I remembered it being. It's winter, yes—but the port city is an international trade center, it _never_ gets anything below busy.

But the train station is barren—and the people from the Argus Limited rush out of the station in a hurry.

Atlas had closed its borders. I didn't realize how much of an effect it would have on the rest of the world.

Everything is changing—Nothing stays the same.

"The Atlesian Military Outpost is off-land," I say, walking towards the exit. "We're going to need a boat or an aircraft—and permission to visit."

"How do we get those?" Jaune asks.

"They're not going to trust us," Ren says. "We aren't even Huntsmen—technically."

Nora scratches her head. "Yup! Never even finished school~"

"I'll find a way," I say. I always say that. Sometimes, it feels like empty words.

* * *

The boat is the easy part. It wasn't hard to find a ferry and pay for an attraction that didn't technically exist.

It's hard to value money when you know that your livings will always be supported by everything—every _person—_ lost on _that day._

I let the teenagers admire Argus. The city is a mix of Atlesian and Mistralian architecture and technology, which makes it quite a sight for first comers.

There's no place like Argus. There's no place with Argus's problems.

The Atlesian Military Outpost (seriously, they should name that thing) comes into view. It's tall and towering—like I remember—and it's built into the side of a mountain. I never did figure out if the mountain was artificial or not now that I think about it. A wall surrounds the outpost—and a single gate stands in the way between the outside world and the Atlesians.

The ferryman drops us off. He stays and waits for us, counting his newly found wads of Lien.

I stride to the gate—more than ready to make my presence known. As soon as I'm in range, the lights turn orange and the gates crashed close.

"How rude," I grumble. My hands twitch.

"It wasn't going to be easy," Ren reasoned.

I slam my hand on the call button to the side of the gate. "Hey! This is Summer Rose, Professional Huntress. You might know me as the White Flash? It's been ten years and I've had a _really bad day_ (and month, really) _,_ so—"

 _Bzzzz_

"That could've gone better," says Jaune. "Maybe try being polite?"

"Shut up," I seethe. I rub my temples. That hadn't meant to slip out.

Ruby walks past me, giving me a passing glance and pressing the comms. "Hello? We're the Huntsmen from Haven...Uh, my uncle Qrow Branwen sent a letter to General Ironwood? We'd like to come in…"

 _Bzzz—"No unauthorized personnel are allowed on Atlesian military grounds." —Bzzz_

"Aw…" Ruby turns to JN_R and shrugs.

I look back at the base and covertly give it my middle finger. "Atlas was always my least favorite kingdom. Let's go."

The ferryman drops us off back in Argus and thanks us for our service to his wallet.

"First," I say—and I feel silly leading around a bunch of kids. "We need a place to stay. I'll find a hotel—"

"Actually, I think I have family here," Jaune interjects.

I frown. "Really?"

"Yeah, my sister. I don't think she'll mind if we crashed."

"It's fine," I tell him. "I have money. A lot of it."

More than I need. More than I like. More than I'm ever going to use in my lifetime.

And I'm not giving the baggage to Ruby. The blood Lien will die with me.

Jaune looks a bit disappointed so I say, "Look, you can visit. Stay if you want to, I don't mind."

"Nah...I guess it _will_ get pretty crowded."

"Mm."

I get two five-star hotel rooms. I need to blow off this money. Really. Then I let the kids off on their own and go to see what Argus has been up to.

It's late—and the night events are popping up. The city is a tourist attraction and at night, it's littered with parties and carnivals.

At least that part of Argus hasn't changed.

I buy vodka, I don't bother to check what it is—I take the most expensive one on the bar's menu.

It's okay, I guess.

If Qrow was here, things would've gone better. He's legally alive, for one.

But here I am, back and apparently having lost the ability to do things by myself. Stuck relying on other people to help me.

I don't need help. I didn't need help then, I don't need it now.

I've always had to do everything myself—because everyone leaves in the end. You can't rely on people to help you with anything.

I can't wait for Qrow and the others. I have to do this by myself.

I need to find a way to contact Ironwood—

A street pyre bursts on fire. People crowd around it. They chuck things into the fire, watching it burn into—

— _Ash._

— _Dust. Ember._

— _All things end with fire._

— _...I can't get it out of my mind._

I groan. There's another headache on the way. I can feel it.

I hate children.

I finish the vodka and toss the glass into the fire. I don't stay to admire it.

The fire reminds me of things I feel like I don't want to remember.

It haunts me.

I hurry back to the hotel. Ruby and JN_R decided to share a hotel room—so I have an entire room to myself.

And one possession.

I stare at Qrow's duffle bag. Qrow'd be pissed if I opened it. Probably. Or maybe not.

Dammit, I'll just take a look in the front pocket. No big deal.

I find a photograph. It's old and worn out and it's on the verge of tearing. Still, it's obvious what it is.

I thumb over the photograph's version of Summer Rose.

It's fake—that isn't me. That person—was never me.

Huh.

Maybe she is.

Maybe I forget.

I'm struck with the urge to tear apart the photo of Team STRQ (whatever _that_ was).

Or maybe I'll just tear out Raven from the picture _("You should've stayed dead.")._

Against my better judgment, I put the photo back in Qrow's duffle bag.

He's a sentimental fool.

That's one of those things that get people killed.

* * *

 _That's one of those things that get people killed,_ Cinder Fall thinks, watching the burning wreck of the Argus Limited. Limited indeed. _And weak._

"Drive faster," she growls and leans against the pilot's seat. "I don't have time for this."

"A-Any faster and people will notice us…" The pilot looks scared to death. He should be―because Cinder is strong. _I'm strong._

"...That sounds... _reasonable,"_ Cinder decides.

* * *

Whoever (Atlas) decided to make it so that if one tower was destroyed, the whole damn Cross Continental Transmit System would go down is an absolute idiot and I'd fire them in a heartbeat.

I spend the morning of the second day in Argus glaring at my scroll. Qrow still isn't in range. That isn't anything impressive when comms are down for the foreseeable future. Still, radio communication from scrolls is possible. Scrolls are glorified walkie-talkies now―with the bonus of accessing the internet in a specific kingdom.

The bars in Ruby and JN_R's profiles spike. They've come back from...visiting Jaune's sister, I think.

I guess I should greet them.

I leave my room and lean next to Room 321, their dorm, and wait.

"Hi, Mom!" Ruby says, rounding the corner.

She looks happier since we got off the train. Good for her. (I don't understand children and I never will―I don't care for it.)

"How was your trip?" I say and try to force a smile―I don't feel like smiling at that moment. Not when we're still stuck in Argus with no way of getting to Atlas (yesterday, I had sent a number of letters with the intention of spamming Ironwood's inbox until he makes me an 'authorized personnel').

"Great! Saphron and Terra were super nice―"

"Saphron? Terra?"

"Jaune's sister and her wife. And they have a kid and everything!"

Jaune scratches the back of his head, embarrassed.

Ruby continues, "So we found out that Jaune really does have seven sisters―"

I blink. I say to Jaune, "― _I thought you were joking when you said that."_

Ruby looks confused. "Did Jaune tell you? I don't think I did…"

"No. Keep on talking," I say quickly.

― _...I shouldn't be sending strong thoughts. Those are messing with Summer Rose's mind._

― _Yes, like she did with me._

― _But...I'd like to think I'm better than that. I hope I am._

I listen to Ruby's experience with the Cotta-Arc family with polite interest. I guess...It's good for her to experience a real family. A healthy family.

Or a family that actually exists. That's more than I had.

Good for Ruby.

She needs a better life than what I got.

I pat her on the head. "Sounds great. Did you get to enjoy the city yet?"

"No?"

Well. I heard from somewhere that parent-child bonding time was important. Or something. I grin. This time it was genuine. "Then let me take you on a tour." I look up at JN_R and shrug. "You guys are free to join too."

Why not? It just feels like…

Like it's right?

Argus might be all carnivals and parties at night, but it's replaced by kid-friendly gift shops and arcades in the day.

Besides, Ruby and JN_R will help me blow off my wallet―which is always a good thing.

When we arrive at the city-square, I tell them to spend as much money as possible.

"We couldn't―" Jaune starts.

I shove a wad of lien―the amount ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand (I couldn't really care less)―into Jaune's hands.

Then I hold up another big wad of cash. A few people stare as they pass by―some stopped.

"Scram," I say to both the kids and the strangers. To the kids, I add, "Or else you're getting this money too." I wave the lien. I should really start putting more of it in my credit card―or maybe I shouldn't have taken out so much in the train station…

"Where did all this money come from?" Jaune asks. He's speed-walking away as fast as he can.

"I dunno," says Ruby. "We didn't...uh, my dad didn't…"

Nora claps her on the back. "Well, your mom is loaded!"

Ren follows silently.

With the feeling that my 'parent-child bonding' (or whatever) has been fulfilled, I sit on the side of a water-fountain—and wait.

Qrow still isn't in range.

…

Dammit!

I leap to my feet—more than ready to go out and get the lazy crow myself.

I can't take it anymore—sitting here with nothing to do. It reminds me too much of _then_ and _then._ Both _then_ and that _then._

When I was helpless and weak and sitting in a void. Nothing was getting done. Nothing is going to get done.

 _You will fail._

 _Shut up._

 _You won't make it—You won't accomplish anything in the end—_

 _Shut up!_

—… _I must wonder, is this self-deprecation or insecurity—_

I whip around—feeling like I had missed something important. Some _one._ No—many people have dark hair and...golden eyes. Or red eyes? Cinder…? Raven?

Great, now I'm seeing things.

—... _Seeing things._

I sit back down—acutely aware of the people staring at the woman who just had a mental breakdown in the middle of the city, me.

I want to tell them to fuck off but I keep my mouth shut. Past experience tells me that won't go well. At all.

I rub my temples. Maybe it's stress that getting to me. Coming back after ten years...well, it's not _my_ fault that I'm not adjusting. It's the shitty world. Like it's always been.

People are standing to leave. Smoke is rising from a building a few blocks away—

Wait. _Wait._

Fire roars through the air.

— _...All things end with fire._

For a second, I'm rooted in my seat. I shiver and I'm not sure why.

Then—

 _Goddammit!_

I fling my sword and teleport into the air.

There's a flying woman. Dark hair. Golden eye. New shabby clothes.

She's after someone—

"Ruby!"

— _Hello...Cinder._

* * *

 **A/N: *schedule business***

 **...I love cliffhangers. Anyways. I bring you guys the news that I will NOT be updating in two weeks time due to Christmas (damn those family holidays!) because, contrary to popular belief, I do kind of have a life… Mwahahaha! See ya guys next year!**

 **Beta'd by Bro.**

 **Also, Vol 6 Ep 6:**

 **YEASSS! BURN DOWN THAT HOUSE, WEISS!**

 ***Ahem* with that, I'm off to play D &D...**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **The Wizardrous Magicman: :) Dude, you can donate whenever you want to—if you ever decide to...It sounds like a lot's going on in that video game and rock music brain (very good taste, I might add) so…**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Yup, last chapter was super trippy—I think it might be my proudest chapter to-date, actually! As for Pyrrha...Welp, we're only a few chapters away from the finale...**

 **merendinoemilliano: Pyrrha's been through hell and back (and back to hell again)...literally. Lol (I really shouldn't be laughing…)**

 **Phalanx30: Yup! For characters and their reactions, I usually strip them down to their core personality and known background. Sometimes, I'll even do a character sheet if I need to. Of course, with RWBY still evolving as a show, whatever we do will probably become OOC someday and some way or another…**

 **RizkyBiznooze: lol, that's okay—and I** _ **will**_ **make sure to keep up the good work (...after Christmas). :)**

 **Vctor Miguel Garca: Will do!**

* * *

 **Writing Essays on P atreon: www.p atreon / arosz**

 **Reviews, Favs, and Follows bring me joy. (:**

 **Early Happy Holidays! ~ Aros**


	24. Chp XXIII: Fall

**Chp XXIII: Fall**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Maybe red's like roses? Maybe it's a pool of blood / The innocents will lay in when in the end you fail to save them / Their dying eyes are wide and white like snow / And now they know the cost of trusting you is obliteration." ~ 'When It Falls' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

There's already a fiery mess when I arrive. I'm hanging off a building—my sword embedded in its side.

"Hello, Ruby." Cinder walks towards Ruby, wreaking havoc on the way. For the spectacle, she blows up a light post. Ruby transforms Crescent Rose. She backs away slowly, pointing her weapon at Cinder. Cinder laughs. "Oh, Ruby, you think that _stick_ is going to stop _me_?"

Already, I don't like Cinder (well, I never _liked_ her, now I just dislike her _more_ ). What a narcissist.

"CINDER!" Jaune charges. He gets blown off his feet and sent crashing into a building.

Idiot. A Maiden is way out of your league.

—…

"Jaune!" Nora and Ren look between Ruby and Jaune. They don't know who to run to.

My decision is easy. I throw my sword at Cinder.

Cinder turned. "Wha—"

I appear in the air—and swing a kick at her face. She manages to form a sword, but the impact still knocks her away.

"Maidens just keep on getting lower and lower, quality-wise," I say. Really, Raven and then Cinder. "It makes my job _so much_ harder."

"Who _the hell_ are you?" I don't think Cinder really wants a response, she sends a burst of flames before I can even try to get a word in.

—...

I teleport away. "My name is Summer Rose. Huntress, silver-eyed warrior, and generally amazing defender of Remnant. I never fail."

Well, except when I did. But then again, that was _one time._

Cinder sneers. "How unbearable." She sends an armada of fire arrows in my direction and dashes for Ruby.

"Hey—!" So _rude._ Who the hell leaves a fight like that? We were in the middle of a heated moment! I spliced the arrows and follow.

Ruby just barely dodges and parries Cinder's relentless attacks. She rolls out of the way of a flaming scimitar.

—…

"What do you _want,_ Cinder?!" Ruby demands. She's loading Crescent Rose. "Power? Is this all it's about? You killed—"

"No—I want _revenge._ " Cinder forms a pair of longswords and slashes. They hit the ground and shatter. " _You_ ruined me! Look at me! I'm _weak_ and _hideous_ and it's all thanks to a hack someone was lucky enough to be born with!"

"!" Ruby shoots Crescent Rose. The recoil sends her flying away from Cinder.

I come in from the side—turning White Rose into a spear and stabbing. I grin. "So this is what it's all about. Embarrassed you lost to a little girl, Cinder?"

Cinder's eye narrows. We ruin the street in a series of blows and dodges.

Jaune charges at Cinder again—he's gotten back on his feet with the help of his teammates. "You deserve to die, dammit!"

"He's not listening to us!" Nora tells Ruby—screams at Ruby, really.

Jaune swings his sword. Cinder makes a bigger, fiery sword.

Cinder slices Crocea Mors in half.

She grabs Jaune by his collar. "Oh, how pitiful. I suppose it's about time I make an example out of _someone._ The Mistralian Champion died sad and alone, didn't she?"

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Jaune struggles, but Cinder has an iron-tight grip. "I'll kill you—!"

—… _!_

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Jaune Arc is going to get himself killed.

Really, he deserves to die for his stupidity.

I groan. Then I throw my sword. I flicker into existence before the whole fiasco, swipe at Cinder's feet, and grab Jaune Arc. I throw the boy out of the way. "Stop being such a _bother,_ dammit."

Jaune rolls along the ground, tumbling over nicks and debris. He chokes. "Ghhh...I need…"

"Stop it, Jaune!" Ruby says, running to him.

Cinder regards me—even as we're trying to kill each other. "Aren't you persistent? Summer Rose, I heard you got _a lot of people killed_ in a bid against Salem."

I narrow my eyes. "I didn't know the news got around." I jump away, pelting Cinder with dust bullets.

"Oh, I couldn't help hearing about it," Cinder says. "Hazel was quite... _vocal_ about his sister's death, you see."

"Really? I couldn't care less." I jump in again, teleporting and catching my sword and striking.

"And here I thought all you Huntsmen-types were noble and selfless. The world certainly has a way of surprising me."

Cinder parries my attacks without much effort. I guess when you can afford to break your weapons on a whim, you don't care for much in a fight.

"The ends justify the means," I say plainly. "Salem is evil, an abomination to Remnant—and I intend to defeat her with whatever it takes."

Cinder laughs. " _Please._ Don't kid yourself. I know you. We're the same, Summer Rose. We both want power—and we'll do whatever it takes to get it and prove we're strong."

"I'm _nothing_ like you. I don't go around destroying cities and massacring thousands." I look behind me. Ren and Nora are restraining the idiot, Jaune Arc. Ruby is standing. "Ruby! Get ready—when I give you the 'go', use your eyes!"

Ruby jumps. She stares at me with big eyes. "What? But I don't—I don't know _how._ "

I falter. " _What?_ "

Cinder growls. " _I don't think so._ " She made a rising motion with her hands.

Distracted, I didn't have the time to teleport out of the way of a gods-damn ice _earthquake._ The ground froze over and giant icicles shoot out from where I stand. I'm thrown into the air—a very unpleasant experience when one doesn't _ask_ to be thrown into the air. I quickly fling my sword and teleport in front of Ruby.

"What do you _mean_ you don't know how to use your eyes?" I point at my eyes to highlight my point. "Ozpin and Qrow just stuck you into this mess without teaching you _anything?_ Please tell me this is a colossal joke of some sort."

"Uh...no? Not really." Ruby tries to look behind me.

I say, "Well, we're fucked," because really—come on, what was Ozpin's game plan here? Send Ruby off to murder Salem without telling her _how_ murder Salem?

Ren steps in. "Summer, you have silver eyes...correct?"

I wave him off. "Yeah sure, _except they're practically dead._ Trust me, you're not getting much use out of these. They—well...let's just say spamming silver eye attacks isn't much of a _viable option."_

I can feel it—the _leftovers_ of my _soul._ It's like...an empty hole where something is supposed to be. A memory you just can't remember no matter how hard you try. It doesn't hurt, but it always feels like your missing _something_ and it changes a person from the _inside-out._

"Uh, guys?!" Nora says. She's still restraining Jaune—the idiotic boy is screaming his lungs out and tears are streaming down his cheek. "She's coming!" Nora warns.

"I feel ignored," Cinder says, walking towards us slowly. I know that walk. It says 'I know I've already won and now I'm dragging this out for my own entertainment'. I use the walk a lot myself. Cinder's face twists into an ugly expression.

"To think I was defeated by a little girl who didn't even know what she was doing... I won't make the same mistake again." Cinder smirked and a bow and arrow appeared in her hand. "Well—let's just say there won't be anyone left to make a mistake _on_."

I look at Ren and Nora. "Make yourselves useful," I order. "Distract her."

They stare at me.

"Go!"

"But— _Jaune,"_ Nora says.

I take Jaune by his armor. "I'll deal with him. Go!"

Ren switches his daggers into pistols and fire. Nora runs for Cinder.

"Let. Me. Go!" Jaune demands, kicking. "Pyrrha—"

For some reason, that really sets off my nerves. It gets my blood boiling and I just want to _scream_. I get in his face and snarl, "Shut up about your gods-damn girlfriend, dammit! You think you're the only one who's lost something to Salem? Why don't you watch your _entire village_ and _everyone you know_ get _obliterated_ by some of the deadliest Grimm _to ever exist,_ huh? What do you say to that?"

"I—"

"You literally kissed her _once._ I- _She_ sent signs for months, did you know that? Everyone in the goddamn school knew. You can ask literally _anyone._ Hell, even the professors probably knew. And they must have wondered, ' _why you?'_ because you, Jaune Arc, are a dense little shit who can't get a _hint_."

He's staring at me now, wondering what the hell I'm spewing about. You know, I don't know what I'm saying either.

"But the reason—the _stupid,_ 'just because' reason—was that you were...you were the only one who saw m- _her_ as just a normal person. You had no expectations for someone who had always been bounded by people constantly telling her what to do—people who always _always_ placed unrealistic responsibilities on her. I-She never got to choose her _destiny_ but you never seemed to care."

I take in a deep breath. "And maybe, killing yourself in an idiotic revenge-driven way would _really_ sully her memory, don't you think?"

I release Jaune Arc, letting him sit by himself in stunned silence.

I face Ruby. I place my hands on her shoulder, I take another deep breath and say, "Listen carefully. I need you to pay attention, okay?"

Ruby nods meekly.

"They—the village elders—used to say that silver eyes came from the God of Light. They told me it's the desire to protect _all of creation._ But that's bullshit, okay? There are just some forms of creation you _don't want to protect_ and one of them is—" I point to Cinder, who has made the mistake of throwing lightning at Nora and is now paying for it "—is _her._ "

Ruby stares at me. Clearly, she's completely lost.

I groan and pinch my nose. "Okay, think of the things you _do_ want to protect. Like...Like that time on the tower—"

— _It was a second too late when I realized that Ruby was there, watching. I kept my eyes on Cinder_ — _that wasn't hard, it's hard to move when you're dying and pain is the only thing you can feel. I didn't want anyone to see me fail, I knew I was going to_ — _that was why I sent Jaune away, but there was some sort of disturbing comfort in knowing that_ a friend _would be there to see the final moments of a person named Pyrrha Nikos._

"—You wanted to...You wanted to protect your friend," I say lamely. Ugh, how embarrassing. How did anyone ever manage to keep their face straight when speaking about these things?

"...Yeah…" Ruby says, head down.

"When you need to use your powers—think of what you _do_ want to protect. Your famil—uh, _friends,_ loved ones, homes. Stuff you like. Crescent Rose." I pause. "That's it. Okay?"

"Um…"

I sigh and point at Cinder. She has Nora on the ground. "Look. Think 'oh fuck, my friend is about to be horribly murdered'. Shoot laser beams from your eyes. Good? Good."

Wait— _Cinder has Nora on the ground?_

"NORA!" Ruby shoves me to the side. A blast of brilliant white light blurs my vision.

"ARGHHHH!" Cinder falls to her knees in agony. She cradled her head. "Stop it…STOP IT!"

Ruby falters. The light flickers and her eyes fade.

" _What are you doing_?" I demand. I motion with my hands wildly. I point at Cinder. "End her!"

Ruby stumbles back. "N-No. I can't. It's not right. It's not…" Her voice is strangled, desperate. "I can't _hurt_ people, Mom. I'm not—you saw what I did to her _before._ "

"So?" This is ridiculous. "As soon as Cinder threw in her lot with Salem, she became a _monster._ If you let her live, all she'll do is hurt more people! You have to set an example out of her."

"But we're not murderers! We're not _like her_!" Ruby cries. "Mom, we have to be _better than her._ "

"You live in a fairy-tale," I say sharply. I walk over to Cinder. "In the real world, things don't work like they say it does. Good people die, bad people live, sacrifices are made, and _you can't save everyone._ "

I sigh. "We do what we do so we can build a better tomorrow, Ruby. Sometimes those things aren't so nice." I nudge Cinder with my foot. She's a shivering mess. "Ruby, look away."

"No...Stop it, Mom. _Don't do it._ "

I ignore Ruby and form my lance. "Any last words, Cinder Fall? Requests? Don't worry, I always make it quick."

"Funny…Last words?" Cinder rasps. "Why, you're the most pretentious and self-absorbed person I've ever had the great _displeasure_ to meet, Summer Rose. And trust me...I've met quite a few of those."

"...I'll make sure to keep that in mind." I bring my lance down—

— _Stop._

My body freezes. My hands shake. My lance is only inches from Cinder's chest.

Cinder sneers. "What? Couldn't even end a suffering soul?"

" _What the hell is your problem_?" I mutter. "She killed you. She _literally_ turned you to dust!"

—…

"Maybe you can do me a favor and _really_ disappear. I'm sick and tired of your interruptions." I glower. I sound like a crazy person, talking to myself like this.

—…

"Not going to talk back anymore? Really?"

—…

"Mom, move away from Cinder. We'll...We'll take care of this." Ruby walks past me and kneels at Cinder's side. "Does it hurt?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Cinder says. She coughs up blood. "Why don't you just die in a pit, girl?"

"...I'm sorry." Ruby bows her head.

I scoff and cross my arms. Stupid. Cinder is a security risk, a risk to the world at large. It's stupid to keep her around.

 _Beep! Beep!_ My scroll rings. I see who it is and I know I won't resist answering. "What is it, _Raven?_ I'm a bit... _busy_ right now."

" _Oh, I know. How_ is _life treating you, these days?"_

"It's better than death."

" _A real pity. I was half-hoping that death would be the end of my troubles."_

"Get to the point."

" _I heard the name Pyrrha Nikos would ring some bells for you. Well, does it?"_

My body tenses. "What does it matter? What do you want, Raven? What's the big 'save my own ass' plan this time around?"

" _...I'd really rather call it a 'save humanity' plan (it has a much better ring to it), but if you must, I suppose._ "

"..."

" _Stay away from the children."_

"Seriously? _That's_ your master plan?"

" _I know you need Ruby, Summer. I know you can't use your eyes anymore. And I know trust is a very, very fragile thing."_

"I'll find a way, I always do."

" _Except when you don't."_

 _Zzzzzzk~!_

I fling my scroll as far as I can. It's only the realization that a scroll is _fucking useful_ that stops me from letting it fall onto the ground. I teleport and grab it from the air.

My eyes follow the incoming stream of Atlas military ships. Of course, it takes them too long to get to the action. It always does.

The ships slowed and land in a circle around the block. Ren helps Nora up and Jaune staggers towards his teammates. Ruby stands up, facing the Atlesian military. The kid is concentrated, determined—and she's a stubborn piece of work.

I feel myself flinch. I never had much to do with how she ended up, huh? For better or worse.

I turn and walk away. I pull up my hood, disappearing into the crowd.

I guess this whole _Argus_ mess isn't my problem anymore, is it?

You win, Raven.

For now.

* * *

"My lady?"

"Doctor Watts."

"Cinder…"

"I am well aware. Is that all you care to bring to me, this meeting? How very disappointing."

"W-Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, here, h-ha…"

"..."

"Wait! What I meant to tell you is that _Phase III_ is ready. Tyrian is ready."

"Oh?"

"We're only waiting for your approval, my lady."

"Very good. I trust there will be no...disappointments."

"O-Of course, my lady. I try—I mean, I _never_ disappoint."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ***Phew* One month break...I hope everybody managed to remember what happened last chapter. This one is pretty chaotic. ;)**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **merendinoemilliano: Good to hear!**

 **Nerd315: lol, it would—too bad it's** _ **too**_ **funny…**

 **The Wizardrous Magicman: Well, I bet Dark Souls 3 takes a while to finish...those games tend to be like that. FFXV is a good play—I think it took me around 30 hours to get through the main plot (I'm not a 100% completion type of person...it's way too tedious for me). The crutch of that game is definitely the 'four besties on a road trip' theme—everything else is kind of...mediocre?**

 **Phalanx30: A lot of how Pyrrha showed up in this chapter is through influencing Summer's actions (evidently, Pyrrha doesn't get too much dialogue)—that is to say, Pyrrha's experiences are expressed through Summer's personality. I see Summer as kind of the braver, 'no compromises' Pyrrha, a Pyrrha that** _ **would**_ **take vengeance on Cinder. Their ideals are, at their core, the same after all. They both want to be 'defenders of Remnant', the 'perfect Huntress'. Well—most of this stuff will be expanded on next chapter, so I should probably stop spoiling the ideology of my own story about now, lol.**

 **I hope you had a good holiday, btw!**

 **Vctor Miguel Garca: yuuuuup**

* * *

 **Writing Essays: www.p atreon / arosz**

 **I can't believe we've reached exactly 200 reviews! Wow!**

 **Goal(?): let's get this story to 300 favorites, 400 followers by the end of its run!**


	25. Chp XXIV: Down

**Chp XXIV: Down**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **Mirror, what's this thing I see? / Who is staring back at me? / Stranger to my heart has filled my mind / Mirror help me, who am I?" ~ 'The Path to Isolation' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"Shut. _Up_ ," I snarl into a cup _._ People turn, they look at me strangely—and just as quick as they look, they glance away.

I don't care. My name is Summer Rose. I _am_ Summer Rose. Knowing me, I've probably saved all of these people's lives sometime or another, the ungrateful snobs.

Yeah, I'm Summer Rose—I'm Summer Rose and I'm wasting away at a bar somewhere on a wrong turn. To be fair, if I'm _completely_ honest, it's a _dignified_ wasting away.

(That's a lie and you know it.)

Shut up, conscience—I already have enough voices in my head. Really.

A glare and a sultry expression send the bartender scampering away. I have a headache and I can't tell if it's from _her_ or the drinking. I don't care. It's all the same, isn't it? Same end result. The ends justify the means, blah, blah, blah. I groan and rub my temples.

Maybe I overreacted. Maybe yelling 'shut up!' isn't the best way to stop the voice in my head. Hell—maybe, just maybe the voice in my head hadn't _meant_ to say anything.

The voice is the quiet type, apparently.

It's an irritating piece of shit.

"Ma'am, I've been asked to relieve you of your position."

My head snaps up. Who the hell is this guy? Oh. I recognize that uniform. Atlesian military, huh? I didn't know they were doing the police's dirty work nowadays. Pathetic, really. Ironwood should straighten out his guys.

"Oh?" I slur. "Buddy, do you have _any_ idea who I am?"

"No, nor do I particularly care."

I jabbed a finger at the guy's chest. " _Atlesians_. Not know for your charming sense of humor are you?"

There's a twitch—just _barely_ a twitch—in the guy's eyebrow. "Ma'am, I've been informed that you have been occupying that seat for more than a few days—"

"So? What, got a problem with a Huntress sulking? Well, that's just rude isn't it." I pause, then add, "Wait—I'm not sulking. I never said I was sulking." You know, just to clear things up.

"Ma'am, I'm asking you again—"

"No. Leave me _alone._ " There's a disapproving noise in the back of my head. Shut up.

"I'd rather settle this with peaceful—"

That was when I had enough and kicked the stupid Atlesian officer in the chest. He flies across the room and crashes into a table. Customers scattered, looking equal parts infuriated and scandalized.

"Was that a _threat?_ Were you threatening _me?_ C'mon, show me what you've got!" I struggle to my feet sluggishly. 'Come and get me', I motion with my hand. I might be grinning. What can I say? Fighting is a real morale boost.

You don't have to think about anything except beating someone (up).

The Atlesian Officer grabs a handle from his belt. It flares and then suddenly, it's a double-sided holo-lance.

Oh, fancy. They got an upgrade while I was gone!

I grab my swords—hidden under my cloak—and fling them. The Officer twirls his lance. He blocks the first sword.

I teleport in front of him as he slashes down in an attempt to block the second sword. I grab my sword out of the air and swing upwards. The lance flies from the Officer's hand. My hand is moving before I think—and really, that's the beauty of it—and I punch the Officer in the stomach. He crumples onto the ground.

I test out my hand with a few swings—then I dodge a dust bullet. I turn. There's a group of Officers crowded in the doorway, rifles and lances pointed towards yours truly. I don't know if I was smiling before, but I must be now. I crack my neck and pick up the other sword. I point at the Officers. " _Hey_ ~"

I do hope the stunned onlookers are filming.

* * *

 _Gah!_ I fly through a window and wind up skidding to a stop in the middle of the street. Sharded glass and debris follow. I roll onto my back and groan.

Okay, maybe— _maybe_ I bit off a little more than I can chew. Just a little.

I blame the drinking and the drumming headache.

Crap, the fucking Officers are storming out of the bar. What a merry uninvited band.

"Well, well, look what we have here."

I cover my eyes. "Not the time, Raven. Can't you tell I'm bus— _Raven?!"_

 _Former partner aka. historical pain in the ass,_ I remember.

She looks down at me—I'm lying at her feet. There's a glint of malice in her blood-red eyes. Actually, her face keeps on shifting between utter hatred and amusement at my pain and suffering—both of which I can't say I'm a fan of.

"Ugh…" I really can't deal with her now. I'll rip out her throat later.

"Truce?" asks Raven, an eyebrow raised.

I grumble under my breath. Memories of the past— _better days_ —surface in my mind and I hate them. I want them to die. Burn in a flame.

* * *

" _Truce?" asks Raven. She smirks and gives me a hand._

 _I glare. "Truce." Then grinning, I take the hand and Raven pulls me up._

* * *

I shake my head and the past is gone.

"What was that?" Raven says drily, waiting for my answer. "I couldn't hear."

"Fine! Fine."

Raven smirks and steps over me—but not before taking the opportunity to jab her high heels into my stomach. I make an infuriated grunting sound and I hope my eyes scream murder. Raven doesn't notice—or she's ignoring me. She nods to someone. "Neo?"

Then the drinking and the headache catches up to me and I faint—

—I mean, _take a break from the action._

* * *

"Pyrrha Nikos, is it? I believe we've met before—when you were a mere child."

— _Yes._

"Once a thief, always a thief, I suppose. Just as once a bandit, always a bandit."

—…

"Ah, did that upset you? How amusing."

—…

"I have a task for you. A very... _important_ task."

— _I'm sorry. I don't do that anymore._

"I wouldn't say that so soon, if I were you. This—This is for the betterment of the world. And...Well, isn't that what you always wanted?"

—… _I've learned that there are many means to reach an end—and I've learned that not all of them are to my beliefs._

"Hm...I'll assume that means you're listening."

* * *

"Raven," I say drily, sitting up. "I'm surprised I didn't wake up in chains."

"Please, I'm no monster." Raven looks up from her scroll. She's sitting cross-legged on a chair in the other side of the room. She examines her nails. "You really have too little faith in me."

"Maybe I had _too much_ faith in you." I crack my back. I try my best to look nonchalant— _sound_ nonchalant—when I nearly want to throw myself out of the building in hopes of getting rid of my _gods damn headache._

It's even worse, now. Maybe it's the hangover.

"Hm, amusing. We both know you have no faith in anyone, Summer."

I glare. I hope I'm glaring hard enough. I switch topics. "Where's your new friend?"

"Running some errands. It was all I could do to stop her from slitting your throat."

"What's her problem?" I mutter. I tilt my head. "Wait—did you just sa—"

"Oh, trust me. I'm not happy about keeping you alive either—but I need you alive for now, so you'll stay alive for now."

I storm up to Raven. "What is it _now,_ Raven? (Dumb line, by the way)," I snap. "Because guess what? _I_ don't have any reason to keep _you_ alive."

Raven's face is a mask of indifference. She looks at me in the way that someone might look at a rat. It's embarrassing and infuriating and I know she knows that I hate it when she does it.

"You can't kill me," Raven says simply, standing up. She's smug and I know it. "I've taken ah... _certain precautions_."

My hands reach for my belt. "You took away my weapons...I'm not seven!"

Raven waves me off. "Then act like you aren't—though I find it endlessly amusing that you think taking away your weapons was the _only_ thing I did."

"What did you do?"

She smirks, high and mighty. "Who knows?"

It takes all my willpower not to strangle her then and there. (I know Raven has a plan, she _always_ has a plan—that doesn't mean I have to admit it.)

I try for a different tactic. "I thought you ran away. I thought you wanted nothing to do with my— _the_ cause."

"You're right," said Raven. "I wanted nothing to do with _your_ cause."

The room is small—a third-rate hotel room, even—and Raven takes the opportunity to open a tiny refrigerator and grab a drink. She's doing this to annoy me, I know.

Raven sticks a straw into the drink and sips for a very, very long time. She finally says, "You weren't always a monster, Summer. You were charismatic—charming, even—and I think you still are. It's different though. Everything is different."

"Did you—did you just call me a _monster?_ " I say incredulously. "Don't make me laugh. The only monster in the room is _you_."

"Hm, I suppose there are two monsters, then." Raven is looking at her scroll again. "Tell me—how are your eyes feeling?"

"Dead."

"They _are_ connected to one's soul, no? With every use, they suck the life out of their users..."

"..." I know that. Of course I know that. I took the sacrifice so I could save the world.

Something I must do. Something only I can do.

" ...and with every use the user becomes less human," Raven says dully—she lays out the facts, cold and bare.

"So?" I ask. I'm getting irritated. I don't want to be here—but I have nowhere else to be.

"So perhaps you're not the person you used to." Raven's eyes flash. "The Summer I know— _knew—_ is long gone. That's why I left—because the new you can't save anyone, nevermind _yourself._ "

"I'm not different," I say hallowly. "I was never different."

"Tell that to the lives you sacrificed for your petty little cause just because—You. Didn't. Want. To. _Lose._ "

"..." She doesn't understand. No one ever understands. That's not—That's not _true._ "You would've done the same thing," I finally say. "You _fucking_ hypocrite."

"I would've done the same thing," Raven agrees. "But I followed you because I thought you _wouldn't_ do what I do." Raven looks out the window. "I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me—I felt like humanity was worthless, in the end."

"Is it?" I ask. "I mean—Humanity."

Raven shrugs. "Everything is worthless."

" _You—_ "

"Everything is worthless to _something,_ " continues Raven. "And I wonder how much worth you put in your daughter, Summer. Is she just a means to an end to you? Like everything else?"

I stiffen. "Worry about your own kid, will you?"

It was a threat—not a request or a question.

"I'm afraid I'm a lost cause in the parenting department," says Raven drily. "But I _am_ curious—were you willing to turn Ruby into—well, for lack of better wording, _you—_ for your cause?"

Was I? I don't even know anymore. I usually let someone else handle _planning things—_ like Raven.

"I'd do anything to defeat Salem," I say plainly. It's the truth—the only truth I can give and loathe as I am to admit it, Raven is someone I can trust, someone I _know._

But—"You don't get to go there, Raven."

Raven nods once. "Hm. It just doesn't seem fair—Ruby doesn't know, does she?"

"...No."

"A shame then, that she's under the impression you've always been like you are."

"..."

"In fact, I hear she recently learned of the tale to your miraculous revival."

I whip around. "You _didn't—_ "

"No, but alas, apparently my daughter takes after me after all."

Damn, I knew I should've gotten rid of any compli— No— _Yang,_ ugh—DA—

Raven ignores me. She lets someone in through the window. "Welcome back, Neo. Anything to report?"

There's a pause. Raven continues, "Hm...I suppose that's— _mildly concerning._ But then again, we can't check every airship that lands in Argus…"

I stagger, my footing unsteady. . I can't—Yang didn't—can't—What will they say— _think_? I didn't—I didn't do anything wrong. It was for the greater cause— _it was for the greater cause._

But this— _this—_ My vision turns red and I lash out. I teleport behind Raven, hand reaching—

—…

"Gah!" My body stiffens and I crumple to the floor.

"I applaud your attempt," says Raven, grinning. She crouches to my level. "But we went over this— _you can't kill me._ "

"Her! _You used her against me._ Ghh—!" I cradled my head. _It feels like needles injecting into my head. Like the hurt that followed—_

' _Can we please just kill her already? Put her out of her damn misery?'_ asks Neo, poking my side. ' _It'll be quick. I'll make it quick.'_

Raven raises a hand. "No. We—She makes an exceptional advantage _controlled._ "

' _Hmph. Just remember—'_

"Yes, yes. You'll get your chance." Raven's eyes are leveled on my body. "Have a good night, Summer."

* * *

— _I agreed._

— _I have nothing to lose._

— _Nothing to look forward to._

— _Nothing to go back to._

— _The least I can do is to stop the same fate from happening to others._

— _If it means helping Raven Branwen—then it's a small sacrifice._

— _I was at peace, I think._

— _I was happy when I died._

— _It just took a while to realize it—or maybe I knew all along._

— _That there was never a grand destiny or a heroic fate._

— _And this—this isn't living and it will never be what we need. It never was._

— _We're holding onto a false life never meant to be._

* * *

I spend the next day sulking—I mean, _thinking things over._ I stay in a chair, following Raven's every move. I tell myself I'm thinking of ways to escape—or to kill Raven, preferably to kill Raven.

"How long are you going to stare at your scroll?" I ask, trying to get under Raven's skin. "The glorious Raven must have more productive things to do with her sad, lonely life!"

Raven does not take the bait. "I do—and I'm doing it."

I rub my temples. A few minutes later, I say, "At least get me a drink. Don't bandits entertain their prisoners?"

"No. Besides, you're hardly a prisoner."

"Maybe I behave better drunk."

"We both know that's not true."

I pause. "...What did you do to get the girl on your side?"

"Neo hates your guts. That helped."

"Not _Neo._ The other one."

"Nikos."

"Yeah. Her."

Raven looks up. "You underestimate the willingness of someone who had their free will—and _death—_ taken from them."

"But—I know how she thinks. I _am_ her." I frown. That came out _wrong._ "I mean—you know what I mean. I'm not—I refuse to be— _her._ "

"It's simple," Raven tells me, "You did an awful job choosing your candidate."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," I grumble. "You just can't help it, can you?"

"I'll admit—I do think that if I were in your position, I would've done better," Raven says with a small shrug.

"Hm...You were always unbearable."

"I could say the same for you. If it wasn't undying optimism, it was sky-high egotism."

I deflate. "I thought you chose me as partner _on purpose_."

"Yes—if only because you seemed like the most competent person around with the exception of _Qrow,_ and, let's face it, I would die before I partner with my idiotic little brother."

I raise an eyebrow. "You're twins."

"So?"

"Little—"

"I was born first."

"By, like, five seconds."

"So?"

Raven frowns at her scroll. She's multitasking—entertaining me and doing...whatever she does on her scroll. She's doing it to get under my skin. She knows that I hate it when people don't pay attention. She _always_ does it. She _keeps on_ doing it.

"If it's any consolation," Raven says, still more preoccupied with her scroll. She doesn't even look up. "Choosing you was the worst decision in my life."

I can't help it. I'm hurt. My fingers curl. "Well, _tha—_ "

Neo bursts in through the window. She rolls into the middle of the room—her aura flickers and she's bleeding from scrapes and cut.

Raven throws away her scroll. "Neo—!"

' _They're coming!'_

I'm already standing by then—training and instinct kicking in. " _Who_?"

' _Raven, they're here—I think they're here. They're after her. Get her—'_

The hotel rocks and Neo doesn't get the chance to finish typing. She's thrown across the room by a gust of wind. Raven cuts through a dust bullet—it explodes. Raven flies into me and we tumble over. Ash and dust cover the room.

"Persistent one, isn't she?"

"Yes~, persistent…hehehehe."

I push Raven off myself. "I think," I say, gritting my teeth, " _Now_ would be a good time to get my weapons back."

"Ah, Summer Rose! Just the lady we were looking for."

The dust settles and there are two new figures in the room.

"Pardon the rude interruption," one of them says. He bows. "My name is Dr. Watts, my partner is called Tyrian."

The other figure whips around a scorpion tail and laughs like a maniac, or—I think—he really is a maniac. "That's me!"

Dr. Watts straightens and smiles—white teeth and all. "It's nice to meet you, Summer Rose. I hope you've had a good day for I'm afraid it's about to be your last."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So...Opinions?**

 **Summer and Raven banter is fun. I like writing that. They're such hateful people by themselves, put them in a room and—well, you see.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **merendinoemilliano: :)**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: oof, lol**

 **The Wizardrous Magicman: Ah, I guess now I have to check out Dark Souls sometime—but I just got Assassin's Creed: Odyssey so it might be a while. Alas, time and my wallet prove to limit my experiences.**

 **Nerd315: Interesting, interesting—let's see if you're right… And thanks for writing and have a nice day, too!**

 **Treefrogger: lol**

 **EmptySpot: hehe, and what do you think I feel writing?**

 **Phalanx30:** _ **A Matter of Time and Death**_ **is one of those Jaune Groundhog Day stories, right? Not particularly a fan of those—but that stems from a dislike of Jaune-oriented stories in general. He's usually too much of a generic protagonist for me. And what intention for Arkos do you mean? There are a lot of ways one can go with it, after all, and I can't give much of an answer with such a vague concept. ;)**

 **Ethos the ET: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. And um...I'm not sure how to respond to your questions…**

 **Lord of Memory: Ooh, like Kiritsugu, huh? Now that you point it out, I can see it. Anyway, here's to hoping that my writing will continue to live up to expectations!**

* * *

 **Writing Essays: www.p atreon / arosz**

 **Goal(!): 300 Favorites - 420 Follows**

 **(woah, we blasted past 400!)**

 **It's been an honor flying with you all. ~ Keith Kogane**


	26. Chp XXV: End - Pt I

**Chp XXV: End - Part I**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **One life is not a long time when you're waiting for a small sign / Patience is hard to find / Shadows seem to fill your life" ~ 'Wings' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

 _Cheesiest. Villain line. Ever._ I think, flying out of the window. Not the type of flying, mind you, that I actually _enjoy_ doing. The type where I crash through glass and cause mass chaos by landing in the middle of a busy afternoon crowd. It's even worse than the _last time_ I did this—oh, a couple of days ago? People scatter—I slam into some random guy's back (seriously, _what are you doing here?_ ) and tumble to the ground. "Ghh!" My aura flickers.

I get back on my feet, shaky. I cough.

Salem's new lackeys leap down from the hotel room. Tyrian is laughing, his mechanical tail flicks up. Still—I think I like him better than the pompous doctor. Can't stand that type.

"Salem sure stepped her recruiting game up, huh? Finally smartened up?" I ask, quirking a brow. "Or maybe she just got lucky."

Tyrian freezes. He stops laughing. "Do not speak of Her Grace in such manner," he hisses, "Her Grace is great—she does no wrong."

"Uh, yes. I...agree," says Dr. Watts. He looked at his partner. "Evidently."

The scorpion one's got a screw loose, it looks like. Pity him. I laugh. "You really think she gives two shits about any of you? As soon as she gets what she wants, she'll discard you like the rest of them—like everyone else."

I remember the black smoke and the smell of carnage, the blood that followed every corner and lifeless silver eyes. I remember the Grimm—and I can't ever forget the _despair_ and _desolation_ , the _hopelessness._

The Doctor frowns. "I've heard many things about you in your prime, Summer Rose. I'm afraid 'all bark and no bite' was not a trait I came across."

"Fuck you," I growl. I look to my sides. People are staring, they've formed a messy ring around us like idiots. I look up and say to Watts, "I guess you've never come across 'diversion' before, either?"

"Excu—"

Raven appears—dropping from the hotel—her sword swinging down at the Doctor. Tyrian pushes Watts and the Doctor falls on his side. Then Tyrian runs for me. "Enough talk, heathen!"

"Rose!—Ghh!" Raven crumbles. Electric waves surge up and down her body. She holds out a shortsword— _my_ shortsword.

I focus—lock on—and teleport. I grab the sword, swing it at Watts. The Doctor reflects the blow—his sleeves ripping to reveal the gauntlets underneath. I grit my teeth and skid back.

"Where's the other sword?" I ask, glancing back at Raven.

Raven grunts. She stands up, a hand on her sword. "Lenore," she says.

I remember that word. I remember what it means. I remember that it's been a long time. I make up my mind and turn my attention back to Watts. "Fine. Get Tyrian."

Raven is already prepared—already dashing off. It's always been like this—like she can read my mind.

I thought that was a good thing, once.

I swing my sword, test it, and then I strike. Watts dodges, he jumps back and fires pure electricity. I throw my sword, teleport behind him, try to catch him by surprise. He swerves, electricity following him and running up my arm. I bite down on my lips, keep a hold on my sword. I swing up. He tries to bend backward, but he's too slow—he's not meant for the field, even I can see that—my sword cuts up the right side of his face. Watts recoils, hand covering the cut. He glares, then he aims his gauntlet—

—at the crowd.

I shift, eyes flicking between the people and Watts. I spring for Watts.

He takes the shot.

The sound of screaming takes me off my guard. I miss—fall. I grunt, shoulder hitting the ground. I hear running—panic.

* * *

 _Something I must do. Something only I can do._

* * *

" _I'd do anything to defeat Salem," I say to Raven plainly, flatly._

* * *

 _Remember, you have a world to save. No matter the cost. Sorry, Tai._

* * *

I get back up. I face Watts. "You're going to pay for that," I say. I swipe my mouth.

"I would say the same." Watts lets go of his face. His blood is drying under the cool afternoon sun. Sirens ring—shuttles are jammed by human bodies. People run, scatter.

I bolt for Watts—I throw my sword. I call, "Lenore!"

I skid and swerve. Raven kneels—Tyrian's tail striking where her head had been. She stabs my sword—the one she'd been keeping from me—into the ground.

I teleport, grab my sword, swipe Tyrian in the legs. Raven strikes—stabbing her own sword into his stomach.

"Grrrragh!" Tyrian wobbles, swings at us in a frenzy.

I leap back, reach for the sword I'd thrown at Watts—and teleport.

I clock Watts in the face— _then_ I grab my sword from the air. Watts falls, grabs my leg—I move to shake him off—

—"Gah—" Electricity runs up my body, buzzed through my veins. I collapse.

Damn, my body won't move— _move!_ Watts stands up, his gauntlets running with electric currents.

"So reactive. How barbaric," Watts says coolly. He reaches for me.

"Summer—!" Raven turns, rips her sword out of Tyrian's frame. Her eyes glow blue, she slices her sword—

"Hkk—!"

"Hehehehe—he~" laughs Tyrian, wrapping around Raven. He licks his lips—it's disgusting. He bleeds from the cut Raven had inflicted on him—it _should have been fatal—_ but he didn't bleed blood. He oozes black tar—thick and murky and wispy.

Raven looks down—there's a metal stinger protruding from her chest. Raven's hands shake—reaching for the stinger.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Tyrian says cheerfully. "I wouldn't do that if I were you~! As soon as you take that out—well, let's just say the results won't be pretty."

"You'll bleed to death," Watts said flatly, turning. "Or the poison will run through your body and rot you from the inside out."

Raven's eyes widen. Her mouth moves but no words come out, only gurgled sounds.

I can't look away—I'm frozen, paralyzed. I would've been either way, I think, if I'd been electrocuted or not.

Still—

Still—

Raven—

 _Not Raven._

She can't die. She can't die, she can't die, she can't—

"NO!"

* * *

" _We were partners once," I said, remembering—reminiscing._

 _Raven says quietly—resolute. "More than partners."_

" _Not anymore."_

" _No." Raven narrowed her eyes. "I shouldn't be so surprised—that you would resort to such low methods to come back."_

" _You're one to talk. I'm trying to_ protect _the world, and you—all you ever thought about was yourself!"_

 _Raven snaps—she snaps, minces her words and loses her composure. "It's better than thinking you're holier-than-thou and can do no wrong!" She looks away, at the wall, at the floor, anywhere but at me._

 _She says, "You should've stayed dead."_

* * *

 _Raven is staring at me. Her eyes widen, then they narrow and her expression closes off_ — _I haven't seen that in a long time, not since First-Year when she was still kicking off Tribe habits._

" _No," she says._

" _Wha_ — _you're kidding me! You promised you'd help! We're going to kill Salem once and for all_ — _as partners_ , _side-by-side_ — _end her and everything she stands for! End the Grimm and everyone who dared to abandon humanity by siding with her! ...You signed up for this."_

" _I signed up for a leader I believed in. Someone who I thought I could trust. Someone who could make the right choices. This isn't that, Summer._ You _aren't that_ — _not anymore."_ _Raven storms off._

 _I clench my fists._

* * *

" _Lenore!"_

 _Throwing my sword, I skid and turn. Raven hears me from yards away—she can always hear me, we're always in sync, always perfect. She stabs the sword—the sword I passed to her on the way to Mount Glenn—into a Grimm. Not a Grimm, I remind myself, a human turned into a Grimm. But then, was there really a difference?_

 _I teleport, grab the sword, slice upwards, split the Grimm-infested human in two. It's disgusting, sickening, bordering on manslaughter._

 _Still, better them than all of Vale._

 _I locate the sword I'd thrown, it's stuck inside a lumbering figure. I teleport, slice the Grimm's head off, retrieve my sword._

" _There's too many of them!" Taiyang exclaims._

 _Qrow grunts. "Team HNTR and Team SCLT are down. We've lost connection with Team GYEM. So yeah, things aren't looking too good."_

 _I close my eyes. I knew what I had to do. What I must do. Something only I can do. "Cover me. I'm going to the top—getting a better view."_

" _No—Summer—we talked about this, your eyes—" Raven starts._

" _It's the only way. It's our only chance. Look around us—this place is falling apart. We can't let the parasites reach Vale, you know that." I don't look at her. I can't look at her. I'm running. Running away._

 _But I turn and face them anyway, halfway up, and I say, smiling, melancholy—_

—" _Remember me as I was."_

* * *

" _Truce?" asks Raven. She smirks and holds out a hand._

 _I glare, but I take the hand anyway. I grin. "Truce—I let you win anyway."_

" _Please. We both know that's not true."_

" _You girls finally done? I swear—you spar every day. Worse, it always takes forever," Taiyang complains, walking into the training room. Qrow trails behind him._

 _Something I must do. Something only I can do, I used to say._

 _Sometimes—these days—I think, maybe, I had it all wrong._

' _RED ALERT. RED ALERT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL.'_

" _Mount Glenn," Qrow rasps. "We called it."_

" _Then let's move," I say._

* * *

 _We meet in Emerald Forest, on Initiation Day._

 _We try to kill each other._

 _When that didn't work, we call a truce._

" _Truce?" I ask, holding out a hand. "I'm getting kind of sick of fighting over a freaking chess piece."_

 _We were supposed to make partners anyway—it's just that I've never been much of a team player. I'm only there—in that Intuition—because Ozpin thought I should socialize—he said it'd be good for me, make me more human._

" _Truce," says the girl, red eyes calculating and cold. "It looks like you're the most capable person in this civilized hell-hole anyway." She pauses. "Besides my brother—but I'd die before I tell him or team up with him."_

 _I laugh at that and we shake hands._

* * *

Silver light unfurls from my eyes in the shape of wings. It floods the street, illuminates Argus.

I can't stop it—I've lost control. I scream, it hurts—it hurts and I hate it. I hate using it. I hate what it does to me—

—what it _did_ to me.

* * *

 _I see a chance. I see a warrior on the cusp of death_ — _a warrior with a destiny fulfilled and peace after death. I know a chance when I see it. I take it._

* * *

 _I hold up Gretchen's body. The Grimm's claw shreds her in two. I throw her aside—discard her._

 _I guess I couldn't keep that promise to Hazel after all._

* * *

" _Messy business," I mutter. "That's what it is." I slide my sword out of the woman. Blood and black tar soak my clothes—I already know it's going to take weeks to clean out. The woman slumps, falls flat on her face._

 _Suddenly, I remember why I was there—at Mountain Glenn. A Grimm infestation, the worst kind. A plague of parasitic Grimm had overrun the village—ruined it, destroyed it._

 _It hurts, my eyes hurt—my head hurts. I've forgotten something. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something important—everything important—_

 _And then I realize—_

 _I can't remember anything at all._

 _I move on, woozy, hazy, in a daze. I step over the woman. There's a girl, indiscernible features, brown and pink hair, two-toned eyes. Small and shivering._

 _I hesitate. I shouldn't be hesitating. But still, she reminded me of—something._

 _What was it?_

* * *

" _Summer Rose? Pretty name for a pretty girl," says the man. "My name is Ozpin_ — _er...just Ozpin."_

 _I shiver. I'm cold, scared, alone, hopeless, desperate. I hang on to the white cloak_ — _clench it in my fists. Ozpin, I think—mysterious, unconventional. The light hits his shaded spectacles and I see his eyes—cold, determined, a look a thousand years away. I remember those eyes._

 _Ozpin stands. "Why don't you come with me, little one? There's—well—there's not much left here." He looks disappointed, scanning our surroundings—a broken village._

" _G-Gone…M-Monsters—R-Red…"_

" _Ah, yes. The monsters. I run a place—a place that gets rid of monsters." Ozpin spreads his hands. "A place that teaches how to fight—how to win."_

 _I remember—the light leaving his spectacles then, his eyes hidden behind darkness. "Care to join me?"_

 _I remember—that was the first time in my life I spoke without a single doubt—_

—" _Yes."_

* * *

Tyrian shrieks. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He falls to his knees, cradles his head. Black tar bursts from every pore in his body.

Just like I can't stop the light—he can't stop it.

The tar consumes him, swallows him—creates a dark mass of nothingness. It grows—keeps on growing. Wings burst from its back. A tail grows out of its body—a large orange stinger at its end. Large, clawed legs—longer at the front, shorter at the back—support the body.

Its face was the worst thing about it, a mix of reptilian and scorpion features. It had six glowing red eyes, covered by a mass of head bones, fangs and a forked-tongue stuck out of its mouth. Then it screeched—its mouth parting in four ways and dripping toxic tar that melts shuttles and the road.

Raven falls forward, a gaping hole in her stomach. She lands with a thud.

I squeeze my eyes close. I can't—

This—

Watts scurries back, away from the rampaging Grimm. "Now you've done it! That was the back-up plan, you idiot!"

I don't understand—

The doctor runs away as fast as he can. He stumbles, trips, but he does it—he runs away.

I'm frozen, cold.

Alone.

Why—

— _Not yet._

...what?

— _Not yet._

I don't think you understand.

I give up. I _give up._

This is what you wanted—This is your chance.

We're going to die.

We can't win.

Everything—

Everything always goes wrong.

I give up.

I watch Tyrian's Grimm destroy buildings, trample lives, ruin the city.

I remember the black smoke and the smell of carnage, the blood that followed every corner and lifeless silver eyes. I remember the Grimm—and I can't ever forget the _despair_ and _desolation_ , the _hopelessness._

I give up.

—…

— _I never gave up._

— _I never wavered._

— _I thought of doing so._

— _I thought of giving up, of wavering._

— _I remember a destiny I never achieved._

— _A happiness I never attained._

— _I never gave up._

— _Never wavered._

— _I died for the future._

— _For a better tomorrow._

— _For hope._

—…

— _I refuse to let my death be in vain._

— _I refuse to let things end like this._

— _Despair. Desolation. Hopelessness._

— _I'll create an ending I'm proud of._

— _A future I'm proud of._

— _I'll do it myself if it comes to it._

— _Something I must do._

" _Something only I can do."_

I stand up—a ghostly smile on my face. "Fine. An ending I'm proud of?"

I don't know who we are anymore. I don't think it matters.

I walk unevenly over to Raven, cover her with my cloak. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

Raven shifts, wakes. "J-Just make it q-quick," she says. "I-I'm not dying w-with a lose."

"That makes two of us. Truce?"

"T-Truce. R-Remember me as I was."

I look away. "Don't say that. You were never the problem...Don't say that."

"What's going on?!" Qrow appears around the corner. He skids to a stop. "R-Raven?!"

I walk up to him, punch him on the shoulder. "We have a problem."

"I know…?" Qrow's eyes flick between me and Raven, confused, fingers twitching. He looks up at Tyrian's Grimm, rampaging. "Yeah, I know." He looks back at me. "Summer, your eyes—"

"You—!" Jaune looks furious upon seeing me—utterly enraged. He storms forward, surges forward, and I remember, _they know, they all know._

I say the only thing I can. "Hey."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I regret naming the prologue 'Death'. It would've been more appropriate to name 'End Pt. I' 'Death Pt. I' (heh, foreshadowing), but I suppose 'End' works too. It's definitely more….fourth-wall-y.**

 **Speaking of, what do you guys think about the Vol 6 finale? Personally, I was shook by the reveal of Atlas—a freaking flying city!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **The Wizardrous Magicman: Somehow, I managed to give Tyrian the boot yet again. Poor Tyrian, he finally gets to be the** **final boss' and he isn't even himself, lol. Anyway—I've found myself in the habit of getting games on bargain most of the time now. It's weird, but then again, games go on bargain all the freaking time so it isn't hard.**

 **Phalanx30: Just one scene with Arkos reunion…? Welp, you'll get that next chapter (well, it isn't brief but since it's delegated to one chapter, I count it as one scene)! Anyway, I find it kind of fascinating that a ton of fanfics with add-ons (ie. time-travel, looping, self-inserts, character changes) actually don't change much of the overarching story. It stands out to me as getting an idea but not following through on it—because in reality, things** _ **should**_ **be changed, but it's difficult to change things when you already have a canon. Like, why not just follow that route and make it a bit more sad or happy? It's easy!**

 **merendinoemilliano: ouch, good luck on those exams :)**

* * *

 **Writing: www.p atreon / arosz**

 **Goal(!): 300 Favorites - 420 Follows**

 **Remember me as I was. ~ Senator Shockwave**


	27. FINALE: End - Pt II

**Chp XXV: End - Part II**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

" **The light you gave to guide me will never fade away /** **But** **moving forward** **never felt as hard as today." ~ 'Cold' by Jeff Williams**

* * *

"Hey."

Tyrian— _the thing that used to be called Tyrian_ —roars in the distance. I can't focus—I'm not focusing—I hear the roar through an echo chamber. It sounds like the ocean, burning and breaking. It sounds like—failure.

 _I failed. How long_ — _have I been failing?_

Jaune surges forward, reaching for me, hands closed into fists.

I'm rooted to the ground—I don't know why, but suddenly it feels like the world is crashing down on me. None of them—none of them watching—move at all.

I can't—"I'm sorry."

Jaune freezes in his tracks, his eyes widen, and his fist stops fractions away from a swing. I think—I would've liked to get hit then, instead of _this._

Shock, betrayal, anger, but—the hurt—

Ruby, I'm—I was—I didn't—

"We'll save this for later—" my mouth betrays me "—we have bigger problems to deal with right now...literally." Words come out of my mouth, words that aren't mine. I should be grateful, that she was taking the lead. But—

"Sum—er, _she's_ right," says Qrow. "That Grimm is tearing apart the city— _that's_ our priority. Save the talking for later."

"Where did it even come from anyway?" wonders Nora, but her eyes don't move away from me.

"Where all shitty things come from," I mutter, then I turn and run—away from them, it feels like. Away from Team R_BY and _JN_R_. I hear them following behind me, I want to say ' _Don't follow me'_ or maybe ' _It's good to see you again'._ I don't know. I can't choose.

But I guess—

— _All things must come to an end._

The Tyrian Grimm is tall, big, and hulking, it's a reminder of the past, of burning villages—

— _and hollow Dragons._

Of failures—

— _and triumphs._

The Grimm is blocks away, it's moving, every step sends trembles through the ground. I throw my swords, teleport, and wonder—

 _Everything I did_ — _was it all wasted?_

I don't know, but I know what I have to do now, something only I can do. Maybe—Maybe that's enough.

I hear Ruby's voice carry over the wind. It's commanding and strong and—none of it was ever my doing.

 _Good,_ I think.

"Qrow and Nora, on me! Ren, Jaune, Oscar, Maria, I need you guys on evacuation duty. Yang and Blake, distract it!"

I teleport into the air, above buildings and wires and the city, Argus—it's exhilarating and at the same time, somber. Tyrian shifts, its six reptilian eyes opening and closing—searching. _There's always a weak point, a chink in the armor,_ I think.

I fall—I can only stay in the air too long before gravity begins working again. Tyrian's jaws—all four of them—part ways and that toxic tar, a dark purple, drips all over the street. It melts the cement instantly. The roar split my hearing. I grunt, hitting the ground.

There's always a weak point, sometimes it isn't so obvious. Sometimes, it's just a lot more work.

Yang and Blake streak pass, circling the Grimm and landing hits that Tyrian only seemed to regard as annoyances. Then, behind Tyrian, Ruby launches herself off Qrow's scythe, aiming at the Grimm's back.

I sprint for Tyrian.

The Grimm is more agile than it has any right being. Its eyes burn red, it turns, crushing a shuttle under its foot. It's—face-to-face with Ruby.

I throw my sword and teleport. I slam into Ruby, sending us both flying to the ground. Fire sings my clothes and my hair stands on end. _Fucking hell,_ I think, _it breathes fire._ I let most of the impact fall on my left side, I don't need it, and better me than Ruby. My aura holds strong, flickering between white and red.

"Be careful!" I snap at Ruby, "You can't—the _risk_ —"

"What do you know about risk?!" demands Ruby, stepping backward. "What do you know about anything?! You're the one using _my friend's dead body!_ "

That isn't technically true, I wanted to say, _technically,_ it was always _my_ body. I grit my teeth and keep my mouth shut. I know better. I _should_ know better.

"Is Pyrrha in there right now?!" Ruby continued. "Was she there, trapped, the whole time? When you traveled with us, _lied_ to us—"

I flinch.

Ruby looked away, her voice turned quiet, but it was still cold like steel. "I used to _admire_ you, you were my hero, my dream, my ideal. Now—"

"They say that fantasies are better than the real deal," I say. "Someone once told me that...that the dead were a martyr, an image you can change to whatever you want them to be. That when you think of them, you aren't seeing the real them."

"I guess they're right," says Ruby.

"Yeah, and... they said you only get one chance—at life, I mean." _That a second chance was unfair._ "I don't need to know what you think of me, Ruby. It's good to know, but I don't need to know. It won't matter, after this. We have a Grimm to fight, and I plan on finishing it." _We've already wasted enough time as is._

"Have any ideas?" Qrow limps up to us. "'Cause nothing seems to be working on this thing, whatever it is."

Giant pink heart bullets hit the side of Tyrian's head. He growls and shakes it off, roaring purple flames. Blake throws Gambol Shroud around a foot, Yang pulls. Tyrian halts, he swivels his head and breathes fire.

I smile thinly. "I do. I need all hands on deck." I add, "I'll get the evacuation team."

"That's not a good idea—" starts Qrow.

"I know, that's the point. Distract it!" _No second chances._

Who am I? Maybe it doesn't matter.

* * *

Ruby, Qrow, and I make our separate ways. They're fast and they get the memo and I appreciate that, I do. Still, it feels like things are being left unfinished—incomplete, even. _Too soon, too late, mistakes make too long ago._

You're lucky, or maybe you were just smarter than me. You have no regrets and you're fine with loose ends. Still, you have one more chance to say—

"Jaune, we need to go." My voice is strained. My hands are holding a building in the air. _Polarity—is—surprisingly—useful._

"Wha—" Jaune starts. The old woman behind him, dressed in dated elder clothes, adjusts her goggles.

The civilians understand, they hurry to safety like it's a second instinct, running past me and away from Tyrian's path of destruction.

"I have a plan—" I say, voice catching. I don't know what to do— _why did I decide to do this—_ it's beyond awkward—why—"I-I need you to listen…

Ren gives Jaune an awkward thumbs up, tells him "All the civilians are accounted for," he pauses, "at least the ones I can sense."

"That's good enough," says Jaune. He turns to me. "Plan? You're kidding right? You think I would do anything for you—"

I wave my hand and the building flies for Tyrian. My aura flickers with effort but it's worth the reaction. Tyrian growls, turns his head—and okay, I think, maybe that wasn't the best idea after all.

"And you _dare_ to use _her_ semblance!" snarls Jaune.

"Jaune—" I begin.

"Don't Jaune me, don't talk to me, you can die in a pit for all I care."

I'm at a loss for words. I never thought—I don't know, _I don't know._

Ren looks up. "Uh...Jaune?"

Jaune turns angrily. "What now?"

The hairs on the back of my neck rise. I feel the temperature take a drastic spike and—"Duck!" I raise a metal wall, grab Jaune, and duck behind it. Purple fire sears the edges of the wall. It's suffocating—my breath hitches in my throat. _All things turn to ash. All things end with fire._

Sweat drips down my face. I'm breathing heavily.

I raise another set of walls.

The flames suddenly pitter to a stop. My walls collapse and I sway on my feet. Then I realize—Tyrian is facing us and his tail swings forward. It paves a path of destruction, buildings fall—bursting into pieces. I curse. I grab Jaune by his collar and teleport—I'm too late, too close, and the force of the tail knocks us into the air.

We spin, wind blows in my face, gravity takes hold, and we're falling.

"Let go of me!" Jaune screams.

"Stop making this more difficult and help me!" I yell back. "I'm trying, Jaune, but you _are not_ making this easy!"

"You sound like her, why do you sound like her?!" Jaune struggles. His voice is strangled, it cracks, "Y-You have her eyes—"

"What—" I breathe too late. We slam into Tyrian's tail. I wheeze, stand up shakily, and drop back down, stabbing my sword into Tyrian's tail. We're sent flying back and forth, up and down. It's disorientating and my vision spins.

Jaune stabs Tyrian repeatedly, gritting his teeth and eyes blazing. His sword cuts into the tail, but it doesn't do enough— _not enough, never enough._

"Get your team back together—!…" I tell Jaune. My voice hitches. I rasp and whisper, " _Our_ team."

I remember—the empty nothingness, the hollow, a place where all things ceased to exist. There was only me—whoever I was—and _thoughts_ and _contemplations, regrets_ and _what-ifs—_

—A person could go insane, in there.

— _A person could search for any way out._

I don't know who I am. I don't know when I stopped being _me,_ but this life, this _second chance_ , was always—

— _a lie_.

I smile weakly, look away, up, and say, "Do you believe in destiny, Jaune?"

"W-What?" Jaune goes rigid. He freezes, mid-swing. He's silent, motionless, until he sags—tired, and says, "I don't know what to think anymore. I don't—yeah, I just _don't know."_

I almost laugh, "Not a predetermined fate you can't escape but rather..."

"Something you work towards your entire life," Jaune finishes, quiet, solemn, downcast, _remembering._

"I guess I always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress. To save the world, I guess. To prevent what happened to me from happening to other people, but—" I do laugh this time, it's loud and harsh and betrays all of my _feelings._ "Somewhere along the way, I—well, I _lost my way._ "

"You're not making sense here, Pyr—" Jaune stops himself choppily. He isn't fast enough. "...rah."

"When you see the world in a vacuum, in black and white and who's good and who's bad and if your winning or if you're losing, it eats you from the inside out— _slowly_ , yes, but always surely. And then you take the wrong turns, make the wrong choices, forget what's right and wrong, forget what's really important, and—" I take in a breath, I'm stressed desperate, and— "I guess what I want to say is… _I'm sorry._ I'm sorry it turned out like this, I'm sorry _we_ turned out like this. It wasn't—it wasn't what you deserved, it wasn't what _anyone_ deserved."

"I wouldn't have said those things if I knew—if you'd told me—you know," Jaune says, "I wouldn't have—sometimes I think it's my fault, you, everything, _my_ fault. If only I hadn't been so weak, so _useless,_ if only I hadn't said—"

"Don't lose yourself in the what-ifs and regrets and what-could've-beens. _That's_ how you fall down the hole and lose yourself," I say, "...I should've learned sooner."

"You shouldn't have come back."

"I know."

"I'll never forgive you."

"I know."

"...Don't think about the what-could've-beens, huh?" Jaune squeezes his eyes close. We're still swaying back and forth on the tail of a giant Grimm, still barely holding on. _This is the end,_ "That's hard," he says, "That's really hard."

"Making the right choices is hard."

"...Yeah." Jaune's aura glows gold, he stands straighter, his eyes determined, and he says, "What's the plan?"

* * *

I scale Tyrian's back, dragging my lance through his skin. It's a mess of protruding bones— _a spine—_ and black bog. I sprint as fast as I can, leap pass bones, and aim for the head. I stumble, carry on, think _one final leap of faith._

 _Something I must do. Something only I can do._

"Bumblebee!" Ruby shouts.

Blake wraps Gambol Shroud around Tyrian's back leg. Yang grabs the end of the ribbon, jumps away, uses the recoil on her gauntlets. She touches ground and skids back, eyes shifting red and hair on fire. Jaune reaches her in time, conducts his Semblance into Yang through her shoulder. Yang snaps back and pulls on Gambol Shroud.

Tyrian loses footing, roars fire, and falls. I stumble, grab onto a protruding bone, and wait out the tremors.

Qrow slides behind Tyrian. He swings his scythe and his weapon flips into a longsword. He stabs it into Tyrian's tail and grunts with effort as he digs his weapon in deeper.

I begin running again.

Ren and Nora weave around Tyrian's head. Nora slams her hammer into the side of Tyrian's cranium, Ren pelts Tyrian's eyes with bullets.

The farm boy and the old lady help civilians out of the shambles of buildings and point them to safety, keep them away from Tyrian's line of sight.

Tyrian roars again, purple fire burning the building in front of him into crisp. The fire letters away as he closes his four-way jaw and then—

Ruby appears in front of the Grimm in a swirl of rose petals. She opens her eyes and silver light unfurls from her pupils.

—

" _Before you go," I say, reaching out. I quickly retract back my hand. Qrow, Ruby, and I are standing in an alleyway, but that doesn't mean we're safe from Tyrian. I shouldn't be risking precious seconds like this._

 _Ruby looks back at me, vaguely irritated. "What is it?"_

" _Silver eyes—" I remember Raven, her words, how they stung more than I thought they were: 'Ruby doesn't know, does she?'. "Silver eyes take their power from the soul. That's why—that's why they have to be used sparingly. You only have so much of your soul and—you become less human, the less you have."_

 _Ruby's eyes widen. "What does that mea—"_

" _It means that my life is a cautionary tale, that you can do better. You can be the me I never was, the Summer you saw in your mind. I—I entrust the future, Salem...to you."_

* * *

Tyrian's head turns to stone, spreading from his jaw to the top of his head and then down his neck, into his back. It begins flaking three-quarters to his tail. His body tremors, begins quaking.

I reach his head. I leap off as he wakes, opening his jaws and breathing in air—turning it into smoke and fire.

 _All things turn to ash. All things end with fire._

I throw my lance into Tyrian's gaping mouth—

—and I appear inside the mouth of the Grimm, I dive for its inners.

 _There's always a weak point, sometimes it isn't so obvious. Sometimes, it's just a lot more work._

I feel the temperature rise, the heat begins to reach unbearable levels. My lance hits solid—

—I close my eyes as purple flames engulf me.

 _It isn't enough,_ I think, _but it's the end._

* * *

 _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee._

* * *

Tyrian explodes from the inside out, his purple flames erupt throughout his body—his mouth, his eyes, his skin. Ruby yells for cover and takes off for an abandoned building, grabbing Jaune on the way.

They watch the Grimm—in its bony, reptilian, scorpion-like entirety—turn into ash and smoke. It evaporates into the air—a giant cloud of darkness—and disappears.

There is an indent in the street—the buildings—of a giant monster.

There is nothing else.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **What? What is this unsatisfying and super loose ending?! It sucks! Well...hehe, that's part of the charm. This is how I think of it: death** _ **is**_ **unsatisfying and filled with loose ends, there's no such thing as a proper send-of, just an** _ **ending**_ **that you don't get to choose** — **that's why you've got to live in the moment, live while you can, because you never know when** _**your**_ **ending is.**

 **Besides, who else can say they wrote a bad ending** _ **on purpose?**_

 **On that note, what's this? A fanfiction that has an ending? It's a goddamn miracle! Uh...I guess...I really appreciate you, dear Reader, for sticking with me through this goddamn trainwreck** — **because, let's face it, that's exactly what this is (and I hope to learn from my many,** _ **many**_ **mistakes writing this fic, but hey, you gotta start somewhere). So thank you, seriously!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses**

 **bwburke94: fixed it, thx**

 **SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta: Hm, can't say I was too satisfied with Ruby eyeing the giant Grimm to death with no consequences...but then, who am I to talk? (haha...ha)**

 **merendinoemilliano: That's good to hear. School is a pain in the arse, but unfortunately important…**

 **The Wizardrous Magicman: Oosh, I didn't even think of the Titan Atlas. That's definitely a parallel there, huh? And, haha, I don't think I'm that great of a writer, I can do a lot of improving, especially with the details. Besides, using so many dashes, commas, and paragraph breaks annoys a ton of people and has honestly become a bit of a crutch for me. Ah, yes, unfortunately bargain bin games have also become a bit of a source of impulse buys and empty wallets…**

 **Phalanx30: Agreed, I suggest doing some research on 'Death of the Author'. One of my favourite YouTubers of all time, Lindsay Ellis, did a video on it recently. It's basically the idea that the text of a story stands by itself, that when a creator puts their work out there, it's open to any interpretation by anyone. What can I say? I'm a literary fanatic.**

 **Amelia: Oof, can't say the story has any answers for RWBY, JNPR, and Cinder after this. I've always thought of 'Stars Never End' as Summer/Pyrrha's story, and so it ends with those characters. I suppose. I do think Jaune and Ruby get nice developments, though.**

 **Allison Illuminated: Hi! Gotta catch up with re:Bound, too. I like waiting for fics to finish or stop updating though** — **which, I know, makes me a filthy binger** — **but I just can't help it!**

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! ~ Aros**


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